58 



Sweden,and I think D"" Heylaerts if he refers to the varions records 

 of the fact, will admit that he is in error in refusing atra 

 {opacella, HS.) a habitat in Scandinavia. 



d) D"" Heylaerts argument hère has two branches. First, the Lin- 

 nœan collection at Burlington house is worthless. If so, why is it not 

 thrown on the scrap heap, and why had D'' Heylaerts « un désir assez 

 vif d'étudier les Psychides qui s'y trouvent »? As to the actual 

 spécimen of atra, D"" Heylaerts quotes me correclly as saying it is 

 « in a déplorable condition », but shows a grievous want of 

 candour in remarking « c'est-à-dire indéterminable ». I said il was 

 in a déplorable condition « as a cabinet spécimen », but added 

 (( as a type specim-en to be recognised and identified the spécimen 

 is excellent » and entered into détails explaining exactly how this 

 was. That the spécimen is uncpiestionably opacella HS., neither 

 D"" Heylaerts nor any one else could doubt for a moment. 



D"" Heylaerts rejects the one scrap of excuse I afîorded for 

 plumifera being called atra, viz. that it is in the cabinet as on the 

 wing one of the blackests of Psychids; this is notso in D"" Heylaerts 

 cabinet, it is in mine, — a resuit due, of course, not to us but to our 

 cabinets. 



II 



I do not hold any brief to défend M. Tutt or bis works, but I may 

 say a word as to D'' Heylaerts S"""* division, in which be strongly 

 objects to M. Tutt's définition of the superfamily of Psychides. 

 Neither I nor M. Tutt invented the inclusion of « wie grande 

 quantité des Tineidœ » in the same group with the true Psychidœ, 

 but I bave some responsability for having accepted this heresy 

 more heartily than some modem authorities are disposed to do, 

 and also for having assisted M. Tutt to arrive atsimilar conclusions. 



The position may be most simply stated in this way, that ail the 

 forms included by M. Tutt as Psychides hâve certain peculiarities 

 marking them ofï from ail other groups, except from the true 

 Tineœ i. e. the Tineœ feeding on fungi and rubbish, which may 

 be the base from which the Psychides originated, or more probably 

 are another branch from a common base. It is not difîicult to make 

 a fairly continuons line from Narycia to Oreopsyche, which shall 

 include nearly ail the Psychids, with gradually specialising charac- 

 ters, whether we take the larva, the pupa, or the imago. Still, ail 

 such phylogenetic arrangements of forms, are probably much 

 more complicated in fact, than we show them in our tables. The 

 Psychids with apterous females arose probably on several lines, 

 Fumea, for instance, is not, I think, on the line of évolution of 



