TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 159 



Fam. n. ^Vpterygid^. 

 Apteryx. 



1. australis, ex Nov. Zelaud. ins. bor. 



2. mantelli, ex Nov. Zelaud. ins. media. 



3. owenii, ex Nov. Zeland. ins. med. 



4. maxima, ex Nov. Zeland. ins. med. 



Dr. Sclater illustrated his remarks by exhibiting a series of drawings taken from 

 examples in the Gardens of the Zoological Society of London, which, he stated, 

 contained living specimens of no less than ten out of these sixteen species. 



On a New Mining Larva, recently discovered. By H. T. Stainton, F.L.S. 



The author remarked that it had long been notorious that larvoe of several orders 

 of insects lived between the two sui'faces of leaves of plants, forming tracks in the 

 fleshy substance of the leaf, and hence termed leaf-miners ; that from the time 

 of Reaumm-, nearly 130 years ago, observers had often paid considerable attention 

 to this class of insects, and that latterly a continued attempt had been made, both 

 here and in Germany, to discover all the species of leaf-mining larvte which be- 

 longed to tlie order Lepidoptera. 



Amongst the leaf-mining larvae were representatives of the four orders, Coleo- 

 ptera, Ilymenoptera, Lepidoptera, andDiptera; but at present few entomologists 

 attempt to study more than one order, and hence a collector of Coleoptera would 

 naturally neglect all Lepidopterous larvre and those he suspected to be Lepido- 

 pterous; in like manner a collector of Lepidoptera would reject all Coleopterous 

 larvcB and those he suspected]to belong to that order. Hence the same larva might 

 be suspected by both parties and peglected accordingly. A lai-va which had lately 

 attracted considerable attention had in this way been noticed long ago, both here 

 and abroad, by Lepidopterists, but, being reputed bv them a Coleopterous larva, 

 had been neglected accordingly. 



HeiT Kaltenbach of /Vix-la-Chapelle, who had been devoting his attention to 

 mining-larvce of all orders, had met with this larva, and reared from it a,Micropteri/x; 

 and last spring Dr. Hofinann, of Ratisbon, had also reared a larva of the same genus. 



The genus Microj)teryx is a genus of small moths of the group Tineina ; but the 

 structure of the palpi is so singular, the neuration of the wings so peculiar, and the 

 wings so slightly clothed with scales, that some authors were disposed to question 

 their right to be considered Lepidoptera. Westwood, in 18-40, had expressed hia 

 rcgTct that the transformations of so anomalous a genus had not been detected. 



The larva3 of Micropfcryx had now been foimd very plentifrdly, and had clearly 

 established that the genus was truly Lqn'dopterous, as the only gTOup of insects to 

 wliich they coidd otlierwise have been refeixed, the Ti-ichoptera, have laiTse of a 

 very difierent structure. 



The most striking peculiarity of these Mtcropteryx-laxyas is a slight lateral pi'otu- 

 berance on the fifth segment, which has been noticed in several species. These 

 larvso are totally devoid of legs, and the hinder segments are much attenuated. 



On Varieties o/Blechnum Spicant collected in 1860 and 1861. 

 By A. Stjjs^sfield. 



The BlccJmmn Spicant of Linnjeus, Lomaria Spicant of Hooker, is one of tlio 

 commonest of all Imown ferns. Its range of elevation extends from the sea-level 

 to the summits of the highest moimtains, though it flomishes most in the subalpine 

 regions. It is foimd in greater or less abundance in most of the geological fonnations, 

 most frequently of all in the siliceous formations of the Silui-iau, Old Red Sandstone, 

 and the Coal-measures, and is least plentifid on the moimtain limestone and the 

 chalk. From its extensive difiiision we might be led to expect that vaiieties 

 woidd be numerous, but till within a very late period these seem not to have been 

 recognized by the British botanists. 



Bentham, in his recent work on British plants, says it is one of the most constant 

 of all known ferns. Sir W. J. Hooker, in his ' Species Filicum,' notices but one 

 variety, fovmd near Waii-ingtou, Lancashfre, by Mr. Hobson of Manchester, about 



