LEPIDOPTERA HETEROCERA 
(TINE.£) 
FAM. ADELID/E 
by E. MEYRICK 
WITH I COLOURED PLATE 
General Characters. — Head rough-haired on crown; ocelli absent; tongue well-developed ; 
eyes often enlarged in cf. Antennae 1-4, in c usually twice as long as forewings or more, in Q shorter. 
Labial palpi moderately long to very short, porrected or subascending, slender, pointed, often very 
hairy. Maxillary palpi five-jointed or three-jointed or rudimentary, porrected or folded. Posterior tibiae 
usually with long hairs in c, appressed scales in Q. Forewings elongate or subovate; 16 moderately 
furcate at base, rc developed, 2 from angle of cell, 7; usually to costa, r1 from rather before middle, 
secondary cell more or less developed. Hindwings r or rarely more, elongate-ovate, cilia one-half to 
three-fourths; ta and rc developed, ra often anastomosing with 1» to from a basal furcation, 3 and 4 
usually separate, often 5 and 6 or 6 and 7 stalked. 
'This family is constituted by a line of development originating from a simple form of T'neidae, 
such as Eriocotis; the characteristic distinguishing feature lies in the unusually long and fine antennz, 
which in normal cy c of this family are like those of no other Lefidoftera, but recall those of the Tricho- 
pterous family Lefíoceridae; in a. few of the most primitive species of Adela, and in the Q sex more 
generally, the peculiarity is less marked or little obvious, but this approximation of character at the 
point of origin does not in my judgment at all vitiate the distinctness of the family, which remains a 
clear conception, best understood when treated separately. The family possesses a second unique 
characteristic in the remarkable enlargement of the eves in the cf of about half the genera and species, 
which is again not found in any other Lepidoptera, though a similar structure occurs in certain Diftera. 
"These combined peculiarities indicate a degree of specialisation which justifies family rank for this group. 
The character of the enlarged eyes has been previously used to delimit Nemotois and Adela, but 
I find it quite unsuitable; it occurs in every gradation, and in the case of undoubtedly closely allied 
