NEPTICULA MALELLA. S03 



section of the genus in which the dark-coloured anterior wings have a 

 single bright pale fascia ; in this section it is distinguished by the 

 anterior wings being dark fuscous, not with a purple or violet tinge, as 

 in N. plagicolella, N. acetosae and N. prunetonim, nor with an olive 

 tinge, as in N. tityrella ; the fascia is placed rather more obliquely 

 than in these allied species, and is hardly silvery ; at any rate, it is 

 less brilliant than in N. plagicolella and N. prwnetorum (Stainton). 

 Frey writes : " Es ist hiernach unsere Art etwas grosser, schmal- 

 fliigliger, weniger glanzend, kaum violett angeflogen und mit viel 

 helleren Franzen versehen als die iibrigens nahe verwandte A 7 , plagi- 

 colella. Auch der Kopf ist heller, gelblich behaart. Die Binde steht 

 hinter der Mitte und ist etwas schief. Sie verlauft ganz gestreckt, 

 ist schmal, mattsilbern erglanzend. Weitere Unterschiede von 

 N. betulieola, N. centifoli'ella, etc., getraue ich mich jetzt nicht 

 anzugeben. Dazu ware ein viel grosseres Material erforderlich " 

 (Linn. Ent., xi., p. 428). 



Egg-laying. — The egg is deposited on the underside of an apple- 

 leaf, generally close to one of the ribs. 



Mine. — The larva commences to mine in an irregular, rather 

 tortuous gallery ; at its origin this gallery is extremely slender, but it 

 gradually becomes wider, and the excrement forms a distinct black 

 line in the middle of it, leaving a pale space on each side of it. The 

 larva leaves the mine to make its cocoon (Stainton). Frey writes : 

 " Die Mine ist ein wenig stark gewundener Gang, welcher nach 

 kurzem Verlaufe sich rasch betrachtlich breiter gestaltet und oft, bis 

 2'" im Quermesser haltend, aufhort. Der Koth bildet eine schlanke, 

 braunrothe Linie, so dass die Eandtheile der Mine in sehr betriicht- 

 licher Breite griinlich weiss und leer erscheinen. Die Mine fallt hier- 

 durch sehr leicht in das Auge." Nolcken describes the mine as 

 forming at first " a very slender, slightly twisting gallery, with fine 

 interrupted frass-line, extending near to the pale edges ; then it 

 suddenly becomes much broader, more winding, the frass-line less 

 regular, but broken into irregular heaps, or scattered indiscriminately 

 over the path." 



Larva. — Length 2 lines ; very pale amber, the dorsal vessel red- 

 dish-brown, always conspicuous, even in the leaf ; head small, pale 

 brown, with a darker line on each margin ; the hinder portion shows 

 through the upper surface of the prothorax as two brown lobes sepa- 

 rated by a pale line (Stainton). 



Cocoon. — The cocoon is oval, yellow in colour, slightly flossy. 

 The pupa protrudes its anterior segments before the emergence of the 

 imago (Stainton). Frey writes : " Der Cocon ist oval, braunlich gelb 

 mit etwas rauher Oberfliiche." 



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

 in May and August, from larvae to be found in September- October 

 and June-July respectively. Fologne found full-fed larva? by June 

 7th, 1860, nr. Brussels. Sang found mines on October 11th, 1857, at 

 Richmond, August 5th, 1861, October 3rd, 1863, October 12th, 1870, 

 July 15th, 1871, August 25th, 1873, at Darlington (teste Gardner). 

 Nolcken found larvae (of various sizes) abundantly at Pichtendahl, from 

 July 2nd-27th, and the imago June 15th, 1862. Stainton caught 

 imagines at Lewisham on May 21st, 1849, May 22nd, 1850, May 22nd, 

 1851, and bred them from the same locality on March 30th, 1854, 



