OF THE MALTESE ISLANDS. 59 



which they are attached is mounted so that a dorso-ventral aspect is presented 

 under the lens of the microscope ; and for this reason apparently they have been 

 hitherto overlooked by all the students of this genus of insects. It is true that 

 Grassi (3, p. 12) has noted that " here and there one can observe a short hair 

 curved and relatively thick " ; but that he failed to recognise the true character 

 and arrangement of these spines is perfectly clear. Now that they have been 

 discovered it is highly probable that they will be found to exist in the majority 

 of species, if not in all, and may I think be considered of generic importance. 

 Annandale in his description of the genus Brunetfia, a new Psychodid 

 discovered in Southern India, refers to a similar character, but in this instance 

 the paired spines are somewhat S-i^haped and relatively much stouter than the 

 corresponding spines in Phlehutoinus. In the light of these discoveries, therefore, 

 it is possible that similar spines may be discovered in various other members of 

 the same family, though it is highly improbable that such structures will 

 eventually be found to exist in all of them. 



Palpi (figs. 1 and 13). — Tliese organs are generally said to be composed of 

 four segments, but there are undoubtedly five, and this number may I think be 

 considered common to all the members of this genus. Annandale (l)has painted 

 out that " a minute basal joint can sometimes be distinguished in fresh specimens " 

 but that it is " often difficult to see and appears to be imperfectly separated from 

 the others." That the small basal segment is clearly articulated to the 

 second there can be no doubt, as it can be seen quite distinctly when mounted so 

 that it is not obscured by the surrounding structures. All of the segments are 

 clothed (in P. impatasii at least) with variously formed scales, intermixed with 

 a few hairs. The scales on the first three segments are for the most part very 

 long and somewhat hair-like, those on the remaining segments short and closely 

 packed together. The fourth and fifth segments, especially the latter, are 

 distinctly but somewhat irregularly annulated or ringed, a character which has 

 also been hitherto overlooked by former investigators. In life, when these 

 organs are at rest they are bent downwards and backwards at the articulation of 

 the third and fourth segments, so that the anterior half of the palpus is folded 

 back more or less upon the proximal half ; by this curious arrangement 

 practically the whole of the proboscis is covered or protected (fig. I, pal. 1). 



Proboscis (figs, l and 3). — Slightly shorter than the head, inclusive of the 

 clypeus : in form it is somewhat cylindrical and slightly recurved distally. In 

 the female it is composed of the ioUowing parts : — The labium (fig. 3, lb). This 

 is much the largest organ, and as far as one can judge by viewing it in optical 

 section, it almost completely embraces the labrum-epipharynx : the proximal 

 half is sparsely clothed with lanceolate scales, and the first third is markedly 

 narrower than the rest ; immediately in front of the dark chitinous apodeme or 

 sclerite is a curved row of long fine hairs ; the labella are scarcely broader than 

 the widest portion in the region of the apodeme, and are clothed with a number 

 of fine and rather long hairs. The labrum-epipharynx (fig. 3, Ibr) is relatively 

 narrow and the sides are parallel, but the apex is suddenly attenuated, the tip 

 bluntly pointed, and the margins furnished with a series of long spinose teeth set 

 closely together and numbering about twenty on either side ; ventrally it is 



