BRITISH LEPIDOPTERA, 



CHAPTER I, 



THE ORIGIN OF THE LEPIDOPTERA. 



For many years entomologists have attempted to work out the line 

 of descent by which the Lepidoptera have been evolved. McLachlan, 

 in 1865, and Speyer, in 1870, pointed out certain broad affinities 

 between the Trichoptera (caddis-flies) and some families of the Lepi- 

 doptera. Packard, in 1863, had also suggested a relationship between 

 the two orders. The co-ordinal value of the two orders, however, 

 was maintained by all these writers, and it was not until 1896 that 

 Sharp, commenting on the pupa of a species of Micropteryx (probably 

 semipurpiirella), stated that he "considered the pupa to be that of a 

 Trichopterous insect," and that Micropteryx should be referred to that 

 order, and that, if this course were not adopted, he felt clear that 

 Trichoptera could not be maintained distinct as an order from Lepi- 

 doptera. Chapman had previously described at length the pupal 

 jaws of Micropteryx, and pointed out that they exhibited characters 

 quite unique among the Lepidoptera. 



There is, however, a group of Lepidoptera, in some respects, pro- 

 bably, more generalised than the Micropterygides. These are the 

 Eriocephalides — comprising the British species, calthella, seppella, 

 aruncella, thunbergella and mansuetella. Walterf discovered that the 

 imagines of E. calthella had maxillae constructed on the type of those 

 of biting or mandibulate insects. Chapman has described^ the way 

 in which the jaws are used in eating the pollen. The generalised 

 mouth-parts of Eriocephala consist of maxillary lobes, mandibles, etc., 

 but not only do they differ from all other Lepidoptera in this par- 

 ticular, but the thorax and abdomen of the imago are also more 

 generalised. Both the Micropterygides and the Eriocephalides have 

 the fore- and hind-wings united by a jugum, and, in this respect, as 

 well as in the highly generalised condition of the neuration, they 

 resemble the Trichoptera. 



Another super-family with Trichopterygid affinities is the Hepia- 

 lides. Speyer, in a very interesting paper§, refers to the similarity of 



* Trans. Ent. Soc. London, 1893, p. 263. f Jenaische Zeitschrift, 1885. 

 % Trans. Ent. Soc. London, 1894, p. 338. § Stett. Ent. Zeitung, 1870. 



