178 THE entomologist's record. 



described as American, the eggs of only six species are known, and 

 of newly-hatched larv.e only ten are clearly defined. 



The advance in knowledge which we derive from Smith and Dyar's 

 work is the delineation of the clasps and harpes of nearly all the 

 species ; this is most valuable, and it is specially satisfactory that these 

 structures entirely confirm the work previously done in the genus by 

 Dr. Dyar, Professor Grote, and myself. The further sub-divisions of 

 the genus they suggest can hardly be said to afiteet our British species. 



There is a further genus Mcrolonche given, which seems to be a divi- 

 sion of ViniiHia. As the early stages are unknown it is difficult to say 

 whether the separate genus is necessary. 



There is one statement of Professor Dyar that seems to me quite 

 erroneous. He implies that all the forms of larvie have many haired 

 wartb in the first stage, and says : '-In the single-haired forms degene- 

 ration has occurred, as may be seen by the presence of true warts in 

 the earlier stages." Yet he describes /o/W/ac (first stage) as having single- 

 haired tubercles, as well as fKrcifcra, fraiiilis, and litluKpila, precisely 

 as is the case in the European Hi/boma (Grote). J. alni has single- 

 haired tubercles throughout. The only first stage described in his groups 

 III and IV {j)ersHasa and hawamdis) is that of liamanrelis, and nothing 

 is said about the number of hairs to a tubercle. Yet in the general 

 description (p. H) they are said to have warts in the early stages. There 

 are no British species in these groups, but if it is possible to judge (or 

 perhaps I ought to say, guess) from the other characters of the species, 

 they seem to belong to Hi/lMtma, and will prove to have only one-haired 

 tubercles in the first stage, the multiple-haired tubercles belonging to the 

 second stage. Still, Dr. Dyar is no doubt right so far as this, that the 

 normal arrangement is to have multiple-haired tubercles in the second 

 stage and onwards, that this has passed back into stage i, partially in 

 Apatela, completely in Viniinia, and there can be little doubt that 

 single-haired tubercles in the second stage and onwards are not 

 primary possessions, but the result of further evolution or, as Dr. 

 Dyar calls it, degeneration. 



I have not referred to the genera S'uinjra and i'Udia, as they are not 

 American. They are of course Acronyctids, derivatives of Viminia. I 

 propose to enter on some further discussion, however, as regards the 

 true position of Aitiilonclw and Sitnyra. 



Critical Note on the Synonymy of Fumea sepium. 



liy .T. W. TUTT, F.E.S. 



In working out the Psychid synonymy for my projected account of 

 this group, I was at first somewhat astonished to find that the l-'ioma 

 iahiili-lht. l>ruand, which was added to the liritish list by Ban-ett {Knt. 

 M(i. Ma;/., xxxi.,pp. 26H-2G9) was none other than the well-known con- 

 tinental species J'', scpiniii. I then suspected that l\Ir. Barrett must have 

 found some reason for separating the Jiritish insect from /•'. scjiimn, 

 and hence it became necessary for me to inspect the specimen of the 

 Worcester Psychid in Stainton's collection, which Barrett had referred 

 to 7-'. tahnltUa, I'ruand. With the determination of this specimen as 

 I'. tal/idcUd, liruand, we quite agree, but there cannot be the slightest 

 doubt that I-', tobulclht, Bruand=A'. .^(piimi, Speyer, a name several 

 years anterior to Bruand's. Pnirrett compares (Inc. lit.) the liritish 



