GRA.CILA.RIAD.T:. 21 



GRACILARL\D.E. 



Lithocolletis melanosparta, n. sp. 



$ . 7 mm. Head whitish, sides and front of tnft fulvous. Palpi 

 white. Thorax rcddish-ochrcous, with whitish dorsal stripe. Ab- 

 domen grey, l^'orewiugs lanceolate ; ferruginous-ochreous ; dorsal 

 edge whitish throughout; markings formed of- black irroration, 

 partially edged with whitish suffusion ; two slender fascitc angu- 

 lated above middle, first at g, obsolete on lower half, second about 

 middle; a spot on costa at | ; a slender somewhat sinuate fascia 

 from I of costa to | of dorsum ; an irregular apical patch, preceded 

 by slight dots on costa and tornus : cilia ferruginous-ochrcous, 

 towards tornus light grey. Hindwings dark grey; cilia grey. 

 Transvaal, Barberton, in December {Janse) ; one specimen. 



Lithocolletis dorinda, n. sp. 



c5' . 3 mm. Head and thorax shining bronzy-metallic, hairs of 

 crown blackish. Porewings lanceolate, acute ; orange ; three pairs 

 of opposite costal and dorsal shining violet-white black-edged spots, . 

 and a fourth costal spot before apex : cilia grey, basal third black 

 round apex. Hindwings rather dark grey ; cilia grey. 



Bengal, Pusa, in August {Fletcher) ; one specimen. Larva 

 mining leaves of Desmodium (Leguminosce) (Fletcher). A very 

 interesting species, closely related to the Australian aglaozona 

 and North American desmodiclla. 



Epicephala chalybacma Meyr. 



Larva without prolegs on 10, pale greenish-yellow ; head yellow ; 

 when full-grown, with a red band on each of segmeiits 2-12, a red 

 spot on 13 : feeds inside unexpanded flowers of Fomciana pulcher- 

 rima {Legaminosce), showing no outward sign; when full-grown, 

 it gnaws its way out and pupates in a white cocoon covered with 

 bubbles, usually on the upper surface of a leaf; "the larva first 

 a[)plies a layer of silk to the surface of the leaf, larger than the 

 cocoon and sometimes covering the whole leaf; then it begins to 

 enclose itself by preparing a roof, and when this is sufficiently 

 thick, the larva from the interior cuts through portions of it, 

 Avorks the cut portion about in its mouth and emits it again as a 

 transparent round bubble attached to the end of the strip cut ; 

 apparently the bubble is formed in the mouth, and is prepared 

 very quickly ; the cuts are then closed with more silk applied from 

 within ; in this way nearly the whole of the cocoon may be covered 

 with these stalked bubbles ; when the cocoon is finished no cuts 

 are to be seen, and the bubbles appear to rise from the outer 



