PREFACE. 



The Alucitidsc (Pterophorida;) comprise a group of small slenderly- 

 built moths, with narrow wings and long legs, which are commonly 

 known as " Plume-moths ", the wings being cut by longitudinal clefts 

 into distinct segments which in some genera have a feathery appearance, 

 C^n this account, the members of this Family are generally easy to recog- 

 ■ nize, but there is one section (the Agdistii.as) in which the wings are not 

 cleft, although even here there is some diminution of scaling on the areas 

 which are developed into clefts in the other subfamilies. 



The following characters are diagnostic of the Family : — Head often 

 •*ith forked scales, frons smooth or with conical horny prominence or 

 tuft of scales, ocelli usually obsolete (sometimes present but never very 

 easily seen). Tonguo developed. Maxillary palpus obsolete. Fore- 

 wing with 1* simple or shortly furcate, 5 remote from 1, neuration often 

 much reduced, wing usually cleft into two (rarely three or four) seg- 

 ments. Hindwing with 5 remote -from 4, 7 remote from G, lower surface 

 with a more or less developed double row of dark spine -like scales on 

 lower margin of cell, wing usually cleft into three segments. Cilia con- 

 taining ramified hair-scales. 



The Alucitidre are easily separated from all other Lepidoptera by 

 their unique possession of the series of spine-like scales on the lower 

 surface of the hindwing. 



This Family is cousideted by some authors as belonging to the Pyra- 

 lidina and has some Pyralid affinities, but it is vOTy isolated and it is 

 probably better to treat it as a separate entity. 



The larva is rather short, usually with well developed fascicles of 

 hairs in the free-living forms, but these are necessarily much reduced in 

 the case of internal feeders. As a rule, the larvae feed on the flowers and 

 fruit of their host-plants, but in a few cases they tunnel in stems or fleshy 

 fruits or feed between leaves or tunnel in leaves. The pupa is usually 

 hairy, attached by the tail by means of a double cremaster ; there is 

 occasionally a very slight cocoon but generally the pupa is freely erposed. 



In the following List seventy-eight species are enumerated as Indian 

 but it is certain that more remain to be discovered. Of the Indian 

 species, the early stages and food plants of only thirty-five are definitely 

 known and even of these some have not been found in India, so that a 

 wide field still remains unexplored in the biology of this group. 



The very wide distribution of many species is noteworthy and seems 

 to be natural, the Plume-moths being especialLy adapted by their structu; o 



