OBSERVATIONS OX BRITISH, ETC., TINETNA. 123 



of an inch in length, — a pecuHarity by which a Micropteryx 

 mine can be immediately recognized, even though the larva 

 has quitted it. 



Dr. Hofmann describes the larva as follows : — 



" The larva, entirely apodal, is three lines long, flat, and 

 gradually narrower towards the tail end ; the thirteen seg- 

 ments are separated by deep incisions, the last is particularly 

 narrow, and terminates with two small points ; the colour is 

 dirty white or yellow, the three large segments only are 

 tinged with reddish. The flat brow^n head is much narrower 

 than the first segment ; it is pointed towards the mouth, and 

 has a dark brown spot on each side" (Herrich-Schaffer's 

 Correspondenzblatt, 1861, p. 116 ; Int. ix. p. 195). 



At Dresden, on the 13th of June, I obtained a larva in 

 birch leaves, which / beliece to be that of 31. Sparmannella. 

 It was greenish-white, with the dorsal vessel darker ; the 

 head brown, darker above, and with two hind lobes showing 

 through the front part of the second segment ; the fifth 

 segment wqth a rounded protuberance on each side. (This 

 remarkable character occurs in several of the Micropteryx 

 larvae which I have examined.) The three last segments 

 have a rosv tino-e. When vouno;, this larva has a black 

 plate on the second segment. 



The mine is at first a slender gallery, perfectly Nepticuli- 

 form ; it then swells out to a complete blotch, and very 

 frequently this blotch surrounds the original gallery, which 

 can then only be traced with difficulty by the string of brown 

 excrement. 



Micropteryx Unimaculella. Mr. Wilkinson, of Scar- 

 borough, forwarded me early in May a birch leaf, containing 

 a young mining larva of Micropteryx Unimacnlella, bred 

 from the egg the first week in April. Mr. Wilkinson thus 

 described his mode of obtaining the eggs : — " I took ten of 



