ON THE NEUROPTEROUS GENUS RAPHIDIA. 141 



time. Pdpdisca hilunaria occurs at Kirkby Moss in fair numbers ; 

 the series taken last year is considerably darker than my 

 southern set from Wimbledon Common. P. solandriana, always 

 abundant among birch, occurred in its usual numbers. I gene- 

 rally get the scarcer forms best by breeding from Delamere 

 larvaB, Heasimene Jimhriana was a very pleasing capture in 

 April, 1907, when I got a single specimen at Delamere ; subse- 

 quent search for it at the same place has been unsuccessful. At 

 the same time and locality Coccyx argyrana was abundant on 

 the oaks. 



Perhaps the red-letter record among the Tortrices for 1908 

 was the capture of a beautiful specimen of Stigmonota pygmaajia ; 

 it was beaten from spruce fir in Delamere Forest, one very cold 

 day in April. 



At Wallasey, in July, Dicrorampha petiverella was common, 

 and a few D. polUaiia also occurred, both flying swifty in the hot 

 sunshine. At the same time I was pleased to find that the 

 efforts of the golfers have not quite exterminated the very local 

 Rhodaria sangidnalis, very close work producing three fair 

 examples. D. saturnana is represented by one specimen from a 

 garden wall near Sefton Park, Liverpool ; probably some tansy 

 was growing in the garden on the other side. Eupoecilia nana 

 occurred at Knowsley and at Simonswood Moss in fair numbers ; 

 E. macidosana, one specimen, at Knowsley in 1907. A second 

 brood of E. diibitana was noted at Crosby sandhills in Septem- 

 ber, 1907, and at the same time Catoptria expallidana, which 

 must have been a second brood, was abundant. 



Twyver Works, Warrington New Road, 

 St. Helens, Lancashire. 



ON THE NEUROPTEROUS GENUS RAPHIDIA, Linn. 



By Claude Morley, F.E.S., F.Z.S. 



One so rarely meets with mention of this genus in periodical 

 literature, and Mr. Lucas tells me that so little is known respect- 

 ing it that it may not be out of place to offer a few remarks 

 from my own experience, very scanty though it be. These 

 insects are remarkable for the peculiar elongation of the pro- 

 thorax into a snake-like neck bearing a narrow and vicious- 

 looking head, and when handled they pose the latter in a terrific 

 ophidian manner, as was noted by Kirby and Spence (Introd. 

 7th ed. 6), while De Geer says they then eject a drop of brown 

 and fetid liquid from their " proboscis "( Mem. ii. 734), though 

 his allusion is more probably to the allied genus Panorpa. The 

 genus consists of very few species, all of which are confined 

 to the Palsearctic region ; in Britain we have but four, which 



