genus Acentropus. 277 



13 mm., and the smallest examples having the fore wings 

 more sharply pointed than the larger ones. Of females, 

 he had before him twenty-two specimens, seven with 

 developed wings and fifteen with rudiments only, the 

 rudimentary wings varying in length from one quarter to 

 one half the length of the abdomen : all the females were 

 larger and more stoutly built than the males, and the 

 fully-winged females were 17 — 18 mm. in expanse. After 

 an elaborate examination of the insect in all its parts, and 

 whilst admitting that one cannot be astonished at Olivier's 

 having taken it for a Phryganea, Snellen thinks that, 

 when once its Lepidopterous affinities were pointed out 

 by Westwood, " obscure ideas respecting the distinctions 

 of the or lers of insects, and perhaps a love of contra- 

 diction " (p. 106), must have been the main causes for 

 contending that the creature is Trichopterous. " The 

 more accurately the perfect insect is examined, the 

 stronger root does the conviction take, that we have to do 

 with a pretty normally-formed moth, which has compara- 

 tively much less congruity with a Phryganid than have 

 some other Lepidoptera, e.g., the JMicropterggina. Al- 

 though there are only rudiments of a sucker, the form of 

 the labial and maxillary palpi plainly shows relationship 

 Avith the Pyralid genera, Cliilo, Scirpophaga and Schceno- 

 hius ; the form of the wings, moreover, agrees with that 

 of the two last-named genera, the clothing of the wings is 

 perfectly Lepidopterous, and finally, when the neuration 

 is looked to, it is seen most plainly that this is wholly and 

 indubitably that of the Pgralida.''' The supposed absence 

 of spurs on the mid- and hind-legs, which suggested the 

 name Acentropus, would have been a wide departure from 

 the Pyralid type ; but now that the spurs have been 

 shown to exist, this difficulty is removed. And I ima- 

 gine it may now be regai'ded as finally settled, that the 

 AccntropodidcB must take their place as a family of 

 Pgralidina. 



Snellen mentions (p. 108) that two English specimens, 

 and five Russian received from Baron von Nolcken, have 

 passed through his hands, and he can come to no other 

 conclusion than that all belong to one species, which 

 he holds to be Olivier's Phryganea nivea. As to the 

 seven species of von Nolcken, Snellen remarks that all the 

 arguments as to specific distinctness based on the females 

 Avith perfect wings and the females with rudimentary 

 wings must fall to the ground before the observations 



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