184 BRITISH LEPIDOPTERA. 



specimens captured by Edleston, in the " fifties," at Bowdon, and 

 although Wocke records the species from South France, Italy and the 

 Tyrol, we cannot trace the records on which the statement is based. 

 N. gei, Wocke, was sunk by Wocke himself as being identical with N. 

 fragariella, but the mine in Geum is broader than that in Fragaria, and 

 although this does not count for much, in such a difficult group, the 

 point is worth more definite attention than has as yet been given to it, 

 and one would like to see the life-histories of the insects from the two 

 food-plants, set out in two parallel columns. We have two beech- 

 feeding Nepticulids in Britain, but the species we call tityrella is most 

 probably the turicella of the Continental entomologists, whilst our 

 falgens ( = basalella) appears to be not only their tityrella, but actually the 

 tityrella of Staihton, so that fulgem, Sta. = tityrella, Sta., and the tityrella 

 of British cabinets = turicella, H.-Sch. N. histrimaculella is probably 

 British, specimens referable to this species having been bred, Ave believe, 

 by Vine, from larvas taken in birch in the Brighton district. A T . tormen- 

 tillella has been introduced and re-introduced as British, but the species 

 has probably not yet been taken in Britain. There are other insects 

 whose right to a position on the British list is as yet more or less 

 doubtful, but each will be dealt with separately and the arguments for 

 or against the claims of each will be given when each of these species 

 is considered. A few alterations in the list already compiled (ante, pp. 

 165-167) may be necessary as the details relating to each species are 

 further elucidated. 



Subfam. : nepticulin^e. 

 Tribe : nepticulidi. 

 Genus : nepticula, Heyd. 

 Synonymy. — Genus : Nepticula, Heyden, " Bericht der Versammlung der 

 Naturforscher zu Mainz (1843), p. 208; Zell., " Linn. Ent.," iii., p. 301 (1848) ; 

 Sta., " Cat. Brit. Tin.," p. 28 (1849) ; " Ins. Brit. Tin.," p. 295 (1854) ; " Nat. Hist. 

 Tin.," i., p. 34 (1855) ; Frey, "Die Tineen und Pterophoren der Schweiz," p. 368 

 (1856) ; Heinemann, " Wiener' Ent. Monatschrift," 1862, p. 237 ; Staudinger and 

 Wocke, " Catalog," etc., p. 335 (1871) ; Nolcken, " Lep. Fn. Estland," etc., p. 752 ; 

 Heinemann and Wocke, " Schmett. Deutsch.," ii., p. 727 (1877); Snellen, "De 

 Vlinders van Nederland," ii., p. 978 (1882) ; Sorhagen, " Die Kleinschmett. 

 Brandenburg," p. 301 (1886) ; Meyrick, " Handbook," etc., 710 (1895). Microsetia 

 (in part) Stephens, "Illustrations," etc., iv. (1835), p. 268 [Westwood cited T. 

 stipella, Hb., 138, as type of Microsetia, in the Syn. Gen. Br. Ins., p. 112 (1840)] ; 

 Kirby, " Handbook Order Lepidop.," v., p. 313. Lyonetia (in part), Zeller, " Isis," 

 1839, p. 215. 



Heyden cites the following species under Nepticula : aurella, Fab., 

 argentipedella, Zell., centifoliella, Hgn., sericopeza, Zell., cursoriella, H. 

 [JV. aurella may be cited as the type] . 



Zeller's diagnosis of the genus (Linn. Ent., iii., p. 302) is as 

 follows : — 



" Caput lanatum, etiam in epistomio. Antennas breves crass®, concbula 

 modica instructee. Palpi breves, penduli. Ahe anteriores grosse squamatse ; vena 

 subeostali furcata, ramo inferiore cum mediana per venulam cohasrente; vena 

 mediana postice in tres ramos divisa, subdorsal! in basi furcata : posteriores 

 ovato-lanceolatas, vena media longissime furcata. Larva pedibus veris 4, spuriis 

 12, prsedita (Heyden)." 



The main characters of the genus would appear to be as follows : 



Imago. — Head hairy ; tongue rudimentary ; antennas with basal joint enlarged 

 to form an eye-cap ; maxillary palpi rather long, folded ; labial palpi short, 

 slightly porrected ; fore-wings rather broad, short and coarse scales ; hind-wings 

 lanceolate; (neuration variable, vide, ante, pp. 178-180). 



Pupa. — Libera, with segments and appendages free, i.e., not soldered ; maxillary 



