101 



laws living considerably longer. Mr. Stainton remarked that it was but two years 

 ago he was reading a paper at the British Association at Oxford, in which he com- 

 mented on the extraordinary fact that the larvge of Nepticula never moulted. Now the 

 observations of Von Heinemann show that they do moult : of course there is something 

 abnormal in the moulting of these mining larvae, but after the larva has been inactive 

 for a short time its skin cracks at the head, and it thus proceeds to eat its way forward, 

 because it can only by eating a path before it obtain space to draw itself from 

 its old skin; this in the confined space of the mine gets dravvn forward for a slight 

 distance, and is eventually lost to sight iu the excremental track. Von Heinemann 

 had observed the moulting in several species, and had remarked that it generally to ik 

 place at some part of the mine where the latter changed its character, either from a 

 slender gallery to a blotch, or from a spiral mine to an irregular one, or from a veiy 

 narrow gallery to a broader one. With regard to the specific distinctions Von Heine- 

 mann found important characters were afforded by the cilia and by the length of the 

 antennae, only as the latter varied in the sexes it was necessary in this respect to com- 

 pare males with males and females with females. In examining the wing-veins of 

 these insects, which he had done in a number of species. Von Heinemann found there 

 were three distinct forms, a complicated form, a comparatively simple one, and an 

 intermediate form between the other two. 



Mr. Stainton then read the following brief notes on the ten new species: — 



1. N. jSneella. Closely allied to N. ruficapitella. Larva on hawthorn, iu a mine 

 like that of N. Oxyacanthella. 



2. N. Samiatella. A black-headed oak species, distinct from N. atricapitella ; the 

 mines not distinguishable. 



3. N. Nitidella. A single caught specimen, with polished pale bronze anterior 

 wings. 



4. N. Basiguttella, A new species from an oak-feeding larva, whose mine is 

 entirely filled with green excrement. 



5. N. Pretiosa. Bred from Geum urbanura. Allied to N. iEneofasciata. 



6. N. Dulcella. Allied to N. Continuella. Bred from strawberry leaves ; larvsB 

 in mines similar to those of N. Fragariella. 



7. N. Incequalis. Also bred from strawberry leaves ; the wings narrow and the 

 fascia placed very posteriorly. 



8. N. Distingiienda. Bred from birch, mine not sufiiciemly observed. Allied to 

 N, Betnlicola and to N. Glutinosae. 



9. N. Obliquella. Captured specimens. Perhaps most nearly allied to N. Salicis. 



10. N. Siinplicella. Captured specimens; ou beech trunks. Allied to N. Immuu- 

 della. 



Mr. Stainton said he thought it was rather hazardous describing Nepticulae from 

 captured specimens, but that he must admit the whole paper of Von Heinemann showed 

 such sharp-sightedness and so much acumen that all his remarks were entitled to con- 

 siderable weight. It might be mentioned, for instance, that Von Heinemann had 

 found a character often useful for separating species which we could not see in any of 

 our specimens, because it was in the centre of the prothorax, exactly where we put the 

 pin ; hence this character could be observed only in those specimens which were pinned 

 through the abdomen. 



Proftssor Westwood called attention to an article by Mr. Newman in the ' Zool- 



