NEPTICULA DISTINGUENDA. Zb3 



Food-plant. — Betula alba. Hering gives " Salix caprea," surely 

 an error. 



Time of appearance. — The species is double-brooded, appearing in 

 May and August, from larva? that feed up in September- October and 

 July respectively. 



Localities. — Heeefoed: Tarrington (Wood). Sussex: Local (Meyrick) 

 (probably an error) . 



Distribution. — Germany : Brunswick (Heinemann), Hanover 

 (Sorhagen), Alt Damm (Hering). 



nepticula glutinosae, Stainton. 



Synonymy. — Species: Glutinosae, Sta., " Ent. Ann.," 1858, pp. 96-97 ; " Man.," 

 ii., p. 436 (1859) ; Hein., " Wien. Monats.," 1862, p. 306 ; Hein. and Sta., " Zool.," 

 xxi., pp. 8373-8374 (1863); Staud. and Wocke, " Cat.," p. 338 (1871); Nolck., 

 "Lep. Fn. Est.," p. 775 (1871); Hein. and Wocke, " Schmett. Deutsch.," p. 751 

 (1877); Sand, "Cat. Lep. Auvergne," p. 201(1879) ; Snellen, " De Vlinders," etc., 

 p. 994(1882); Sorhagen, " Die Kleinschmett. Brandbg.," p. 346 (1886); Hering, 

 " Stett. Ent. Zeit.," lii., p. 200 (1891); Meyr., "Handbook," etc., p. 721 (1895). 

 Glutinosella, Dbldy., "List.," p. 36. 



Original description. — Alis anticis purpureo-fuscis, fascia subob- 

 liqua albida pone medium, apice violaceo ; capillis ferrugineis. Exp. al. 

 2^ lin. Head ferruginous. Antennae dark fuscous. Abdomen and 

 legs grey. Anterior wings purple-brown, with a yellowish-white, 

 rather oblique, fascia beyond the middle ; apical portion violet ; cilia 

 grey. Posterior wings pale grey, with pale grey cilia (Stainton, 

 Ent. Annual, 1858, pp. 96-97). 



Imago. — Head ocbreous. Anterior wings 4-5 mm. ; dull silky 

 olivaceous with a purplish tint ; apex violet ; beyond the middle is a 

 narrow, rather dull, yellowish-white, somewhat oblique, transverse 

 fascia ; cilia grey. Posterior wings and cilia pale blackish-grey. 



Sexual dimorphism.— The blackish antennae in the male reach 

 beyond the fascia, in the female beyond the middle of the costa. 

 In the females the surface is often uniformly suffused with blue up 

 to the fascia, either in such a way that the ground colour still 

 remains distinctly visible, or so that the entire surface is dark blue, 

 indeed, even blue-black, but without this colouring being very bright 

 (Heinemann). 



Comparison of N. glutinos;e with N. alnetella, N. micro- 

 theriella, etc. — The imago of N. glutinosae is distinguished from 

 that of IV. alnetella by its larger size, by the purple-brown, not golden- 

 brown, basal portion of the anterior wings, and by the fascia hardly 

 shining at all. The latter presents a great contrast to the extreme 

 brilliancy of the fascia of N. alnetella. In N. glutinosae the fascia is 

 nearly as dull as in N. microtheriella (Stainton). The points of 

 difference between N. glutinosae and N. microtheriella consist in the 

 rather larger size, the less smooth surface of the anterior wings, and 

 their being tinged more with violet, and not with so pure a blue ; 

 also by the very narrow fascia, not so purely silvery, and less shining, 

 and finally by the longer antennae. Those specimens of N. glutinosae 

 which have little of the violet tinge, are still more closely allied with 

 N. turicella, but the latter has the frontal tuft paler, the antennae white 

 or silvery grey to the tips ; the surface of the anterior wings is rather 

 smoother, their tip is not so blue, more of a violet-brown, the fascia 

 is whitish, with a faint silky lustre ; it is placed rather obliquely, and 

 generally expands on the inner margin towards the base, or this 



