2(58 [November, 



NOTES ON THE EAELIEE STAGES OF THE NEPTICULM, 

 WITH A YIEW TO THEIE BETTEE EECOGNITION AT THIS PEEIOD 



OF THEIE LIFE. 



BY JOHN H. WOOD, M. B. 



{continued from fage 201). 



THE MINE AND ITS CONTENTS— THE FEASS. 



"With the egg, position was everything, but in the case of the 

 mine the particular part occupied by it is of quite secondary import- 

 ance, though not to be disregarded altogether. For the position of 

 the mine of apicella at the foot of the aspen leaf is diagnostic of that 

 species ; so too is the small blotch, projecting from the side of the 

 midrib into the blade of the willow leaf, diagnostic of intimella. Suh- 

 himaculella is also very constant in its site, being found, almost 

 invariably, in one of the angles of the midrib, and for a most interesting 

 reason, to which I may probably refer later on. Then we always look 

 for regiella and ignohilella on the margins, and should view any speci- 

 men with suspicion that occurred in the body of the leaf. Besides, 

 there are a few species which have their predilection for some particular 

 part without actually confining themselves to it. Eor instance, mar- 

 ginicolella is especially fond, as its name implies, of the margin ; 

 tityrella usually keeps to the narrow space marked off by two adjacent 

 ribs, and so, nine times out of ten, may be distinguished at a glance 

 ivomfulgens, without our having to resort to nicer and more critical 

 distinctions. Still, when all is said, I do not suppose it is a character 

 on which we can often place much reliance, but it may be useful in a 

 rough sort of way, and being so very obvious, whatever value it pos- 

 sesses can be seized at once. I should add that the mines are always 

 on the upper side of the leaf, and even when the egg is laid below, 

 the mine comes up almost at once as if the larva were in a hurry to 

 get to the brighter and sunnier side. 



But if position is of comparatively little importance, far otherwise 

 is it with the characters of the mine itself. The first point to be 

 considered is its general form. Is it a gallery or a blotch, or a com- 

 pound of the two, like the mine of angulifasciella ? ?et, in reality, 

 when we come to look closely, every blotch mine, with only one 

 exception that T know of, is discovered to be of this composite nature 

 and to start at first as a gallery, not always engrossing a large share 

 of the structure as in angulifasciella, but limited, it may be, to so 

 small and inconspicuous a part of it, as almost to be passed over at 

 first sight. Nevertheless, there it is. Sometimes long and hair-like ; 



