THK BRITISH SPECIES IJELOXGIXO TO THE FUMEIDS. 287 



case of the female luoth. Tliout^li I did not see them soused, not know- 

 in.q; what to look for, and the whole process heing so short and rapid, 

 I have no douht they entered the case witli or before the abdomen, 

 and were used as a means of drawing it into the case. Unfortunately 

 1 failed to observe another pairing, though one at least took place 

 during my absence, and I may not have correctly made my observa- 

 tions in this solitary instance. Assuming that it is the rule for the 

 male Psychid to introduce the third legs in this way into the case, it 

 would ali'ord an explanation of the loss of the tibial spurs, that are so 

 well-developed in the earlier (Solenobiid and Fumcid) divisions of 

 the family. 



The British species belonging to the Fumeids. 



l'.y J. W. TUTT, I'.E.S. 



To say that the collection of the Fumeids in the general collection 

 at the British Museum is exceedingly unsatisfactory, is to state a fact 

 very mildly. Not more than half-a-dozen of the Pahearctic species are 

 represented, and of these the number of examples is absurdly inade- 

 (juate for study, yet some of the species are obtainable on the Conti- 

 nent for a few pence. 



The Fumeids are a most interesting little group of the superfamily 

 PsYCHiDEs, making their cases of silk and covering the outsides with 

 pieces of straw, arranged longitudinally (Fiinn-a), or with small pieces 

 of bark and lichen (Proutia). In spite of the fact, however, that they 

 are of fair size, and easily collected in the larval and pupal states, the 

 imagines emerging freely, we are not at all certain as to the number 

 of species that inhabit Britain. At any rate, we a])pear to have the 

 following : — 



(1) Fiaiica rnissidri'Ud (ajfiiiis), the large brown species, Avith rather 

 broad and somewhat square wings, examples of which have been sent 

 to me from Glengariff (Richardson), Rainham (Burrows), ])oncaster 

 (Corbett), nr. Ealing (Montgomery), &c. This is undoubtedly the 

 rrassimrUa of Bruand. If two examples in the Museum collection, 

 labelled afii)us by Zeller, and taken at Bergiin, are rightly referred, then 

 alfiitis, Reutti = crassion-Ua, Bruand. 



(2) Fiiiiira rasia {ititiilrlla, iittcniicdiclla). — This is the smaller 

 brown species, and I would ask — Does this occur at all in Britain 

 apart from niborimlrlla .' Tliere can be no doubt that lohorinilrllo, 

 Bruand, is the intensely dark, brown-black species we get in the neigh- 

 bourhood of London, Ac. It is quite blackish when bred, but 1 

 s\ispect it loses its intensity with age and becomes brown. I firmly 

 believe, at present, that all our examples are casta (i.e., nitidcUa). I 

 am quite aware that Ih-uand says that rohorimlrl/a, ? , has a white 

 anal tuft ; unfortunately our roboi-icnlcUa (so far as male characters are 

 concerned) has a female with a gray anal tuft. IMitford notes {Fiit. 

 Mi>. Mai/., vi., p. 18G) that intvniicdidla and nilxirimlcUa interpair 

 freely. One would like to know whether Barrett and those other 

 entomologists who separate intrniinlicl/a and nil><iii(i>l,t/a have ever 

 really had rnhiuinilrUa that fully satisfy ]')ruand's original description by 

 having a female with a wliite anal tuft. If not, it ajipears to uw, that 

 we nmst sink rnhnrirn(rl/a (at least Jh-itish) in msta. 1 had some 



