BRITISH LEPIBOPTERA. 55 



transactions, magazines, and other sources, which must have 

 involved enormous labour to the author, and will save just so 

 much to anyone who wants to know them — either the " mere 

 collector " who desires information as to when and where he 

 must go for his specimens, or the student of geographical distri- 

 bution or of life-histories. Each species is treated of under the 

 headings of Synonymy (often half a page of closely printed 

 references), Original Descriptions, Imago, Variations, Comparisons 

 with Allied Species, Ovum, Habits of Larva, Larva (with sub- 

 headings), Cocoon, Pupa, Food-plants, Habits and Habitats, 

 Times of Appearance, Localities, Distribution. 



The most valuable and original division of this portion of 

 the work is the section on the Anthroceras. This is a very full 

 discussion of our British representatives and the allied con- 

 tinental species and varieties, a subject of which Mr. Tutt has 

 made a special study, and amounts to an exhaustive monograph 

 of the group. With regard to the Trifolii, Lonicera, Fili- 

 pendula section, it would appear that there are here one, two, 

 three, or four species, or even many more, according to the test 

 one accepts of what a species is ; that there is great plasticity 

 throughout the group, with a strong tendency to form local 

 races according to locality or food-plant. These races are often 

 very puzzling as to what species they are forms of, or whether 

 they are distinct species. The matter is a very complicated one, 

 which the author has done much to unravel, and towards indi- 

 cating the necessary lines for further investigation. 



The account of the Nepticulae is also of great value, as it in- 

 corporates much material which is referred for authority to 

 Fletcher and Wood, which there is much reason to believe would 

 have largely escaped publication had not our author induced 

 these authorities to assist him. 



Amongst the Nepticulce there is described a new species under 

 the name of N. fletcheri ; this insect has hitherto been con- 

 founded with N. anomalella, but its distinctness has been estab- 

 lished by the work of Mr. W. H. B. Fletcher, in compliment to 

 whom it has received its name. Anomalella is a red-headed 

 insect attached to Rosa canina and sundry garden roses, whilst 

 fletcheri has a black head, and has R. arvensis as its more 

 especial food-plant. When once the distinction is seized, there 

 is abundant difference to be detected in all the stages, and in the 

 outline of the mine and the disposal of the frass within it. 



The author's classification and arrangement will no doubt 

 meet with even more objection than Mr. Meyrick's did. The 

 chief but really unimportant objection will be that it mixes up 

 insects of all sizes, and makes cabinet arrangement of speci- 

 mens a painful problem. This is really all nonsense ; a cabinet 

 arrangement must be linear, no natural arrangement is. There- 

 fore, so long as each group or family is kept together, and one 



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