1871.) 163 
Occurrence of a Pempelia new to Britain (P. albariella, Zeller).—A pair of this 
striking Pempelia were yesterday shown to me by Mr. W. E. Davis, who informed 
me that he has during the past season secured fifteen examples of it in the Isle of 
Wight. He kindly entrusted one to my care for determination. With the assist- 
ance of my friend Mr. Stainton, I find that Mr. Davis’ insect is referable to the 
wpecies above named, described by Prof. Zeller in the ‘ Isis’ (1846, p. 785). Perhaps 
the following description, which I have drawn up from an examination of Mr. 
Dayis’ specimen, may assist our readers. 
Pempelia albariella. General facies that of P. palumbella. Antenne of the 
male setaceous, with a dilatation near their bases, on the upper side of which is 
arranged a cluster of blackish scales. Palpi with ascending curve, grey at their 
bases, blackish towards their tips, grey again at the tips. Thorax fuscous-greyish, 
the patagia having, towards their anterior portions, a few black scales. Abdomen 
fuscous-greyish, paler at the basal segments. 
Fore-wings fuscous-greyish, whitish along the inner margin, especially towards 
the base of the wing; before the first line is a patch, somewhat circular in shape, 
composed of a cluster of raised black scales ; first line blackish, bordered internally 
with ochreous-brown, angulated, starting obliquely from the junction of the basal 
and middle thirds of the costa: in the space between the first and second lines are 
three whitish streaks, the lower two being interrupted in the middle by the ground 
colour so as to form four short, whitish dashes: the upper extends along the discal 
cell, becoming slightly dilated at the disc, where a small black dot, composed of 
raised scales, is conspicuous; above this dot, and about midway between it 
and the costa, is another minute dot: the second line is blackish, irregularly 
sinuous, and bordered with ochreous-brown towards the apical margin (it is nearer 
the hind margin than in P. palumbella, and not so sharply angulated) ; towards 
the apex is a whitish patch, and there are some others, very small, below it along 
the apical margin, which terminates with a thin, interrupted, blackish line; cilia 
greyish-fuscous. 
Hind-wings shining, fuscous-grey, margined by a double dusky line; cilia 
ochreous-grey. 
Female similar, but without the “knot-horn.” 
P. albariella is placed by Dr. Staudinger between palumbella and obductella. 
It is more nearly allied to the former, and is a very local and scarce insect abroad, 
its only recorded habitats being Hungary and ‘“ Amasia and Tokat” (in the north- 
east of Asia Minor).—H. Guarp Kwnaces, Kentish Town, Nov. 16th, 1871. 
Natural History of Gymnancycla canella.—On the 16th of September, 1869, Iwas 
on the seashore during a gale of wind, and chancing to look at a shoot of Salsola 
Keli, which still protruded an inch or two above the rapidly accumulating sand, I 
saw a small larva blown off from it; this limmediately picked up, but my attempts 
to look for another were at that time entirely frustrated by the blinding sand-drift. 
However, my solitary captive was contented to feed up on the little piece of 
Salsola which I brought home with it, and in a few days became a pupa; the 
perfect insect appeared in July, 1870, and was named for me by Mr. H. Doubleday 
with his usual kindness ; and as he at the same time told me that the species was 
