NEPTtCULA AUBELLA. 220 



Stainton's description, to which these entomologists refer as the 

 earliest with which this species can be with certainty connected. This 

 reads as follows: " AureUa, Fab., Haw., St. ? Anrella, Zell., 306. 

 WibnercUa, Hbn., 236; Zell. (/*, 1839). Basal half of the anterior 

 wings golden, apical half violet ; in this is a very shiny silvery fascia 

 placed rather obliquely and slightly concave towards the base ; head 

 ferruginous" (Catalogue Lcp. Tin., p. 337). 



IMAGO. Head ferruginous. Anterior wings 6-7 mm. ; golden 

 brown in colour, tinged with purple beyond the middle ; apex of the 

 wing deep violet ; just beyond the middle is a nearly straight, oblique, 

 pale golden fascia. Posterior wings and cilia dark grey. 



EGG-LAYING. The egg is laid on the under (rarely on the upper) 

 surface of a bramble leaf (Stainton). The egg is always laid upon 

 the upper side of a leaf (Wood). 



MINE. The mine consists of an irregular, not contorted, wavy 

 gallery of moderate width. It is at first greenish-white in colour, 

 with a line of black excrement along the centre. 



LARVA. Length 2 lines ; clear amber-yellow, shining and trans- 

 parent ; the head a little darker, the mouth and two slender lines 

 receding from it reddish-brown ; the dorsal vessel shows through the 

 skin, and is dark greenish-brown in colour (Stainton). When the 

 larva is quite full-fed, the dorsal vessel loses its green appearance, 

 but the organ can be traced by its faint brownish outlines. The full- 

 fed larva is almost exactly four lines in length, and rather more than 

 half a line in width (Healy). The larva mines with the dorsal surface 

 uppermost (Wood). 



MOULTING OF THE LARVA OF N. AURELLA. For our knowledge of 

 the facts connected with this portion of the life-history of N. aurella 

 we are indebted to Healy, who writes : "I noticed that it was rarely 

 that any two larvae agreed in their markings during the period of 

 moulting, and in some few instances the differences were very great. 

 One particular larva was collected in the last week of January, 1863. 

 The day after I had it in my possession it left off feeding, and 

 remained perfectly quiescent in its mine, when all the colour and 

 markings on the head disappeared, and on the anterior portion of the 

 body of the larva were two reddish-brown lines, at an angle of about 

 60, and ending with a dull red blotch, the head and all the parts of 

 the body situate between the two angular lines having a semi-trans- 

 parent appearance ; the remainder of the body was dull yellow, the dorsal 

 vessel being invisible. In this position the larva remained for the 

 space of ten days. At the end of the first week in February, the 

 mouth of the larva became brown, and on the back of the second 

 segment there appeared a square, dull reddish patch. The next day 

 the back of this segment became desorated with two faint brown 

 triangular spots, margined with darker ; these two triangular spots 

 were followed by a couple of longitudinal lines, having a dull reddish 

 blotch at their bases (the dull red blotch at the ends of the two reddish- 

 brown lines had then disappeared). Two days later a pair of reddish- 

 brown spots became visible on the back of the second segment, and 

 were immediately followed by a small reddish blotch. On February 

 10th the entire surface of the mouth turned dark brown, and all the 

 various spots and markings on the anterior portion of the body of the 

 larva became merged in one general dull blotch. The larva then 



