U2S» BRITISH LEPIDOPTERA. 



that he has compared Hodgkinson's specimens with the Conti- 

 nental series of Frey, etc., and finds them to be N. aeneofasciella and A r . 

 serella. 



We may, therefore, safely conclude that A r . tormentillella has no 

 locus standi in the British fauna. 



NEPTICULA. AURELLA, Fabricius. 



Synonymy.— Species : Anrella, Fab., " Sys. Ent.," p. 666, no. 65 (1775) ; "Ent. 

 Sys.," iii., 2, 329, no. 180; G5ze, "Ent. Beitr.," iii., 4, 152, 211 (1783) ; Gmelin, 

 " Sys. Nat.," i., 5, 2605, 1269 (1788) ; Villers, "Ent. Faun. Suec," ii., 503, 975 

 (1789); Turton, "Sys. of Nature," iii., 2. 378; Haw., " Lep. Brit.," p. 584 

 (1828) ; Stephs., "Illus.," iv., 268 (1835) ; Zell., " Linn. Ent.," iii., p. 306, in part 

 (1848); Sta., "Cat. Lep. Tin.," p 28 (1849); "Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond.," v., p. 

 129 (1847) ; "Ins. Brit.," p. 305 (1854) ; " Nat. Hist. Tin," i., p. 34, pi. i., fig. 1 

 (1855); "Man.," ii., p. 438(1859); H.-Sch., " Sys. Bearb.," v., p. 350 (1855); 

 Frey, "Linn. Ent.," ii., p. 441 (1857) : Werneburg.i., p. 567 (1864) ; Healy, "Ent., 

 Mo. Mag.," iii., pp. 7 et seq. (1866) ; Staud. and Wocke, " Cat.," p. 337 (1871) ; 

 Mill., "Cat. Lep. Alp. Mar.," p. 37i (1875) ; Heinemann and Wocke, " Schmett. 

 Deutsch.," p. 742 (1877); Sand, "Cat. Lep. Auv.," p. 201 (1879); Snellen, 

 " Vlinders," p. 983 (1882) ; Peyer., "Cat. Lep. Als.," ii., 2nd Ed., p. 165 (1882) ; 

 Hering, " Stett. Ent. Zeit.," Iii., p. 220 (1891) ; Meyrick, " Handbook," etc., p. 717 

 (1895). 



Original description. — Tinea aurella, alis auratis, postice atris ; 

 fascia argentea. Minima facile omnium. Caput album, fronte ferru- 

 ginea. Antennae breves, nigrae. Ala? aurata3, nitidissima?, postice 

 atra?, qui colores striga argentea vivacissima distinguuntur [Fabricius, 

 Systematica Entomologica, p. 666, no. 65 (1775)] . 



Synonymic notes. — Werneburg, Heinemann, Wocke, Sorhagen, 

 and others do not accept the Fabrician description of N. aurella as 

 applying to this species. Werneburg (Beitrage zur Schmett., i., p. 567) 

 argues at length against the possibility of aurella, Fab., being aurella, 

 Sta., and determines it for X. jilaijicolella, Sta. His arguments 

 against its being aurella, Sta., are : (1) The latter is too large. 

 Fabricius would not have called it " minima facile omnium." (2) Au- 

 rella, Sta., lives on Rubus, hence Fabricius would hardly have found 

 it among fruit trees. (3) Aurella, Sta., appears to be very rare in 

 Germany. None of these arguments is particularly strong. Of them 

 we would say : (1) Aurella was the only Nepticulid described by 

 Fabricius, and would be the smallest moth known to him. (2) The 

 imagines of this species occur on the trunks of various kinds of 

 trees growing near brambles. (3) Although rare, the species 

 is taken in Germany. Stainton, whilst accepting the Fabrician 

 description, as applying to the present species, says (Nat. Hist. Tin., 

 i., p. 46) : " There is nothing in the Fabrician description to apply 

 it in preference to any of the allied species. It is true the wings are 

 not ' black ' posteriorly, it is true the fascia had better be described as 

 pale golden ; but none of the species with silvery fascia? have the 

 'wings golden.' The ' head white, in front ferruginous.' evidently 

 alludes to the whitish eye-caps at the base of the antenna? on each 

 side of the reddish tuft of the head. The ' occurs among orchard 

 trees,' might, certainly, if interpreted too rigidly, restrict us to an 

 apple or plum-feeding species ; but the allusion is, no doubt, to the 

 perfect insect having been taken on the trunk of some orchard tree, 

 which is not an improbable locality for a bramble-feeding species." 

 It appears necessary, however, since so many authorities refuse to 

 accept the Fabrician description, as applicable to this species, to give 



