SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



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common. C. cana, common among thistles. 0. 

 candidulana, among sea-wormwood ; common. C. 

 scopoliana, Benfieet and Eastwood; common 

 among Centaurea nigra. C. aemulana, Eastwood ; 

 two specimens flying over heather, but a few 

 plants of Solidago were near. G. tripoliana, abun- 

 dant and variable ; larvae in heads of Aster tripo- 

 leum at Benfieet. C. expallidana, Benfleet; one 

 only. C. citrana, Canvey ; not common. This 

 moth was added to the British list by Mr. S. 

 Stevens, who took the first specimens near South- 

 end some fifty years ago. 



Symaethis oxyacanthella. Abundant. 



Eupoecilia dubitana. Eastwood. E. atricapi- 

 tana, Benfleet; on ragwort. E. angustana, Ben- 

 fleet and Eastwood. E. affinitana, Benfleet, 

 Canvey, Pitsea ; salt marshes. E. vectisana, 

 Benfleet and Shoeburyness. E. roseana, larvae 

 common in heade of Dipsacus. 



Xanthosetia zoegana. Southend ; scarce. X. 

 hamana, very common. 



Chrosis alcella. Leigh and Benfleet. 



Lobesia reliquana. Eastwood ; common. 



Argyrolepia zephyrana. Vange, Benfleet, Shoe- 

 buryness ; rather common. [It used to occur on 

 the cliffs opposite end of Marine Avenue, South- 

 end, or by fences up to Leigh. — J. T. C] A. 

 badiana, Shoeburyness ; scarce. A. cnicana, East- 

 wood; scarce. A. aeneana, Benfleet; scarce. 



Conchylis francillana. Benfleet, Leigh, and 

 Shoeburyness. C. dilucidana. Leigh. C. smeath- 

 maniana, Southend; scarce. C. straminea, Ben- 

 fleet, Leigh, and Shoeburyness ; one bred from 

 Centaurea nigra ; not uncommon. 



Tortricodes hyemana. Eastwood ; common. 

 Tineae. 



I have given very little attention to this impor- 

 tant division of the Micro-lepidoptera, hence such 

 a meagre list of 152 species, which could be 

 extended much beyond its present length in the 

 course of a single season. It will be found, how- 

 ever, that one or two species of more than ordi- 

 nary interest are included. 



Lemnatophila phryganella, Eastwood ; not 

 uncommon. 



Diurneafagella. Eastwood; common. 



Semioscopus avellanella. Eastwood; rare. 



Talaeporia pseudo-bombycella. Eastwood and 

 Hockley ; cases not uncommon on tree trunks. 



Epichnopterx pulla. Cases are often found on 

 the river wall and at the edges of salt-marshes. E. 

 reticella. This beautiful and rare insect is attached 

 to the cord-grass (Spartina striata), on which 

 plant, but always low down, and on the soil near 

 and under it, I have found cases containing larvae. 

 The legless and wingless female is also without 

 antennae. She never leaves the case in which she 

 has lived as a larva ; is parthenogenitic, and 

 yet able to strongly influence the other sex. I 

 have occasionally used her as a decoy for assem- 



bling the males. I once observed a moth settle 

 on a dead flower disk or receptacle of sea starwort 

 ( Aster tripoleum), a beautiful] example of colour 

 assimilation. Extremely local, this species is known 

 only from the salt marshes of the estuary of 

 the Thames, the coast of Sussex, Hampshire, and 

 Breda in Holland. This moth is apparently quite 

 unrepresented in some of the best collections on 

 the continent of Europe. An ichneumon bred 

 from this species is thought by Mr. Bignell to be a 

 small Lissonota commixta. Mr. Barrett's mono- 

 graph of the genus Psyche and its allies, published 

 in the " Entomologist's Monthly Magazine," vol. 

 30, should be considted by everyone interested in 

 this group. 



Fumea roboricolella. Cases common on fences, 

 tree-trunks, and foliage of oak (common), birch, 

 etc: ; as well as on grasses skirting the river walls 

 and salt marshes. 



Ochsenheimeria birdella. Larvae occasionally 

 found on cock's-foot grass at Benfleet. 



Scardia parasitella. Eastwood; scarce. 8. cloa- 

 cella, Southend and Eastwood. 



Blabophanes ferruginella. Southend. B. rusti- 

 cella. Southend and Leigh ; common. 



Tinea pellionella. S outhend ; common. T. 

 fuscipunctella, Southend. 



Tineola biselliella. Much too common. 



Lampronia quadripunctella. Eastwood ; scarce. 

 L. luzella and L. praelatella, Hockley ; scarce . 



Incurvaria muscalella. Eastwood and Shoe- 

 buryness ; common. 



Micropteryx calthella. Hockley. M. sparman- 

 nella, Eastwood ; scarce. M. subpurpurella, East- 

 wood ; very common. 



Nemophora swammerdammella. Eastwood ; not 

 common. N. schwarziella, Eastwood ; common. 



Adela degeerella. Benfleet, Eastwood, Hockley ; 

 common. A. viridella, Eastwood ; abundant. 



Nematois cupriacellus. Eastwood ; one only, on 

 ragwort. 



Swammerdammia combinella. Southend and 

 Hockley; not common. S. oxyacanthella, South- 

 end and Benfleet ; common. S. pyrella, Ben- 

 fleet, Leigh, and Southend. 



Scythropia crataegella. Leigh and Benfleet ; 

 not common. 



Hyponomeuta plumbellus. Prittlewell ; when 

 at rest resembles the excrement of a bird. H. 

 padellus, far too common. II. cagnagellus, 

 common ; larvae on spindle. 



Prays curtisellus. Prittlewell ; common. 



Plutella cruciferarum. Abundant. P. porrec- 

 tella, Southend ; not common, 



Cerostomavittella. Southend; sugared elm trunks. 

 C. radiatella, Southend and Eastwood ; abundant 

 and very variable. C. costella, Eastwood ; not com- 

 mon. C. alpella, Eastwood ; once only. 



Harpipteryx nemorella. Prittlewell ; once only. 

 H. xylostella, Eastwood ; common. 



