samouelle's 



tribe of caterpillars which otherwise in all proba- 

 bility would swarm to a degree that would deprive 

 vegetation of its beauty and utility : — An extraordi- 

 nary instance occurred in the year 1782 ; for a further 

 account of which I must refer the reader to ' A short 

 History of the Brown-tail Moth,' by W. Curtis. 



" Peltastes takes its generic name from the simili- 

 tude of the clypeus to an escutcheon or shield ; and 

 I have given this species the name of Pi/ii, from its 

 being invariably found in pine groves. Like the rest 

 of the genus (indeed of the family I might say) it is 

 extremely variable ; some having the antennae en- 

 tirely orange, others with the clypeus, palpi and all 

 the thighs black ; and yellow bands to all the seg- 

 ments except the first. There are but three species 

 of this genus (proposed by Illiger) at present known 

 to inhabit Britain, viz. P. neeatorius Fab. which is 

 the least rare, and has been bred from the chrysalis 

 of Stauropus Fagi by Mr. Stephens ; P. dissectorius 

 Pz. taken by myself in the North of Devon in Septem- 

 ber, 1822 ; and the species figured in the plate, 

 which far exceeds the others in size, and was taken 

 in June near Ringwood, Hampshire, Hying in the 

 sunshine amongst pine-trees, by Mr. Bentley, a 

 zealous entomologist who lias added many rare and 

 interesting species to the British Fauna." 



No work has hitherto been published in this coun- 

 try for accuracy in delineation, and in the beauty ot 

 its execution, to equal the British Entomology by 

 Mr. Curtis : indeed we may say, that no continental 

 work to oiu knowledge has exceeded it. 



