1*22 LEPIDOPTERA. 



miller ellus, W. V. They fed rather voraciously on the 

 leaves of Ballota nigra, gnawing holes in the leaves and 

 making much blackish excrement. 



The case was fiddle-shaped, of various shades of brown, 

 darkest in the centre, not distinctly pieced. 



Nemotois 3Iimmellus. " The case-bearers found on Sca- 

 biosa succisa last October have produced, as Dr. Wocke 

 suspected, specimens of N. Minimellus" (F. H., 24, 6, 61). 



MiCROPTERYX. The larvae of this genus are now well 

 ascertained. For many years they have been observed by 

 Micro-Lepidopterists both here and in Germany, but had 

 been mistaken for Coleopterous larvae. 



Dr. Hofmann succeeded in breeding Micropteryx Spar- 

 mamiella last spring, and subsequently Mr. Wilkinson 

 obtained larvae of M. Unimaculella from the egg. Various 

 other larvce have been observed, but the species they will 

 produce can only be conjectured at present. 



31icropteryx Sparmannella. Dr. Hofmann bred this in- 

 sect in February from larvae collected the previous summer in 

 the leaves of birch. These larvae mine large blotches in the 

 birch leaves, and when full-fed quit the leaves and descend 

 below the surface of the earth, " where they construct small 

 oval cocoons, bedecked externally with grains of sand." 



The most distinctive character of a Micropteryx larva 

 appears to be the excrement, which is thus described by 

 Dr. Hofmann : — 



" The excrement forms an uninterrupted black thread, 

 twined into a thick coil." 



In the Micropteryx mines I have examined I should 

 scarcely describe the excrement as an uninterrupted black 

 thread, but iristead of being in round black grains, it is like 

 short lengths of black cotton, from a quarter to one-sixteenth 



