MICEO-PSYCHIDS AND THE TINEIDS. 119 



longer, and the third about twice the length of the first pair. They 

 are horny and glassy, and bear several hairs at the joints ; they are 

 brownish towards the tip. The pro-legs show up as an oval ring of 

 chitinous points or hooks on the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth segments, 

 the hooks on the anal claspers form only a single row. The hairs 

 appear to be as in l^ijrh,', in the lateral area, viz., a small anterior (i), 

 longer posterior (ii), both sub-spiraeular (iv and v), but I cannot trace 

 the spiracles themselves. 



The above description was made from a living larva, sent by Dr. 

 Chapman from Cannes, on March 5th, 1899. On April IGth the 

 examination of a dried larva showed more distinctly that the anal 

 prolegs have only a straight row of hooks, not a partial ring (horse- 

 shoe shaped) as in Psi/cJu' and Solnwhia. The dorsal flap has a group 

 of small but stout chitinous spikes. There are certainly two sub- 

 spiracular hairs, and of the dorsals, that arising from tubercle i appears 

 to be the larger. 



Stainton states most emphatically. Tin. of Southern Knropo, p. 272, 

 in his account of T. Iropolildla (in which he quotes Costa's original 

 description), that this insect is undoubtedly a " var. thoracc immacu- 

 lato " of 'J', vinnddla, H.-Sch., and that it is identical with the insect 

 which he found in some abundance in the larval stage on the trunks of 

 the trees in the Villa Keale, Naples, on February 1th, 18G9. Standinger 

 follows Stainton, and gives {Cat., p. 271) leopohlella, Costa, as a var. of 

 vincnh'Ua, H.-Sch. 



Relationship of the Micro=Psychids and the Tineids. 



By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S. 



]\Ir. Bacot was good enough to submit some of the larvae of Tinea 

 leopolihila to me, and I made a careful examination of them under the 

 microscope. I was much struck with their general Psychid appearance, 

 enhanced by the way they dragged their case after them, and the 

 nature of their food, &c. It is true that the case is open at both ends, 

 rather more like a Tineid in this respect, perhaps, than a Psychid, and 

 as Mr. Eichardson had mentioned, in his inimitable memoir, that 

 Tinea rincitlella used both ends indiscriminately as a door, I was 

 anxious to see whether the allied spieces (or var.) did so, but no amount of 

 watching or disturbance allowed me to make the observation with 

 regard to T. leopohhila. The case is carried flatter both when moving 

 and at rest than that, of say, a Solcnobia, but this one would expect 

 from the physical character of a weaker and smaller larva. Except 

 for two or three, apparently minor, but probably important, dift'ercnces 

 of structure, I should have been inclined to consider the larva rather 

 Psychid than Tineid, but the^e differences will possibly make it neces- 

 sary to consider the species as a member of the true Tineid stirps. 



The affinities of the lower Psychids and the Tineids have not been 

 at all clearly defined, nor does one altogether know on what grounds 

 certain case-bearing larvte should be referred to the Tineid rather than 

 to the Psychid stirps. There can be no doubt whatever that struc- 

 turally, in all their stages, the Solenobiids and Taleoporiids are 

 Psychids, and that I )ijiloil<>iiia and Xi/sjiiatailonta are also on this stirps. 

 It is further clear that there is no ground structurally for separating 

 the Macro-Psychids, so-called, from the Micro-Psychids as is done by 



