202 BRITISH LEPtDOPTERA. 



NEPTICULA OXYACANTHELLA, Stailltoil. 



Synonymy. — Species: Oxyacanthella, Sta., "Ins. Brit.," p. 298 (1854) ; "Nat. 

 Hist. Tin.," i., p. 200, pi. v., fig. 2 (1855); "Man.," ii., p. 431 (1859); H.-Sch., 

 "Sys. Bear.," v., p. 349 (18-55) ; Frey, "DieTineen," etc., p. 372(1856); "Linn. 

 Ent.," xi., p. 373 (1857); Nolcken, " Lep. Fn. Estland," etc., p. 762 (1871); 

 Staud. and Wocke, " Cat.," p. 336 (1871) ; Sand, " Cat. Lep. Auvergne, '.' p. 200 (1879); 

 Snellen, " De Vlinders," etc., p. 977 (18S2) ; Peyer., " Cat. Lep. Alsace," 2nd Ed., 

 ii., p. 166 (1882); Sorhagen, "Die Kleinschmett. Brand.," p. 303 (1886); 

 Meyrick, " Handbook," etc., p. 716 (1895). Oxyacanthaecolella, Dbdy., " List," p. 36 

 (1859) ; Porritt, "List Yorks. Lep.," p. 170 (1886). 



Original description. — N. oxyacanthella, n. sp. Alis anticis f uscis 

 purpureo-tinctis, postice purpureis ; capillis luteis. Exp. al. 2| lin. 

 Head and face deep yellow. Palpi whitish. Antennre dark fuscous, 

 with the basal joint whitish. Anterior wings fuscous, tinged with 

 purple, beyond the middle almost entirely purple. Posterior wings 

 pale grey, with pale grey cilia. Appears in May, but not hitherto 

 observed in the perfect state. The bright green larva is very common 

 in hawthorn leaves in autumn, making long galleries ; it mines also, 

 I believe, in the leaves of wild apple (Stainton, Insecta Britannica, 

 p. 298). 



Imago. — Head deep yellow. Anterior wings 5-6 mm. ; fuscous 

 tinged with purple, almost entirely purple beyond the middle of the 

 wings ; cilia purplish-grey. Posterior wings and their cilia pale grey. 



Egg-laying. — The egg is laid on the underside of a leaf of haw- 

 thorn, frequently close to the midrib, and, as a rule, not very far from 

 the petiole. 



Mine. — The bright green larva of N. oxyacanthella makes a 

 narrow gallery with the frass arranged in coils ; the gallery usually 

 lying on the underside of a leaf, and being long and boldly marked. 

 Wood says : " The larva of this species coils its frass, whether the 

 food-plant be haAvthorn, pear or apple. It is noticeable, however, 

 that, shortly before its termination, the gallery widens somewhat, and 

 concurrently with the change, the coiling abruptly stops, and the 

 frass is collected into a narrow central thread, showing that the larva 

 is ready enough, when circumstances allow it, to adopt the easier and 

 simpler method of disposal. One occasionally finds in the half- 

 starved leaves on the butts of old hawthorn hedges, mines rather wider 

 than usual, and with the frass running in this thread-like manner 

 through their whole length, which makes them look very different 

 from ordinary N. oxyacanthella. There is little doubt that such mines 

 belong to this species, and I would ascribe their peculiarity to the 

 thin and flimsy nature of the leaves." Stainton writes : "As soon as 

 the larva is hatched it commences a very slender mine, which is filled 

 with black-brown excrement ; the larva frequently goes part of the 

 way down the leaf-stalk, and then, turning round, returns into the 

 leaf, when the mine becomes broader and the excrement paler, 

 appearing merely brownish, with the grains placed in little arcs of 

 circles not entirely filling up the mine, but leaving a very narrow 

 margin on either side. The mine is not closely contorted, and 

 ordinarily has not more than two or three turns, though in a very 

 small leaf it necessarily assumes rather a different appearance." Frey 

 writes : " Die Mine ist ein langer, mehr gestreckter und nur ein paar 

 Mai umgebogener Gang, welcher sich nur sehr allmahlig nach unten 

 erweitert. Er wird fast ganz von der braunschwarzen, breiten, zusani- 



