nepticula myrtillella. 315 



distinct non-metallic pale transverse fascia sometimes interrupted at or 

 beyond the middle. 



NEPTICULA MYRTILLELLA, Staillton. 



Synonymy.— Species : Myrtillella, Sta., " Ent. Weekly Intell.,"ii., p. 44 (1857) ; 

 "Ent. Ann.," 1858, p. 95; "Man.," ii., p. 434 (1859); "Nat. Hist. Tin.," 

 vii..p. 236, pi. xi., fig. 2 (1862) ; Hem.," Wien. Ent. Monats.," vi., p. 317 (1862); Hein. 

 and Sta., " Zool.," xxi., p. 8383 (1863) ; Staud. and Wocke, " Cat.," p. 338 (1871) ; 

 Nolck., "Lep. Fn. Estl.," p. 786 (1871) ; Frey, " Stett. Ent. Zeit.," 1871, p. 126 ; 

 Hein. and Wocke, " Schmett. Deutsch.," p. 760 (1877) ; B.-Haas, " N. H. Tids.," 

 xlii., p. 218 (1881); Wallgrn., "Ent. Tids.," ii., p. 129 (1881); Sorhagen, " Die 

 Kleinschmett. Brandbg.," p. 308 (1886) ; Hering, " Stett. Ent. Zeit.," lii., p. 221 

 (1891) ; Meyr., " Handbook," etc., p. 723 (1895). 



Original description. — Nepticula myrtillella. Professor Frey has 

 succeeded in rearing the Nepticula from the Vaccinium myrtillits, and 

 has placed it in his collection with the above name. The insect has 

 some affinity with A r . salicis, but the fascia is more distinct, and 

 broader, and placed nearer towards the apex of the wing (Stainton, 

 Entom. Weekly Intelligencer, ii., p. 44, May 9th, 1857). Later he 

 diagnosed the species as follows : " Alis anticis saturate fuscis, fascia 

 obliqua, tenui albida pone medium ; capillis ferrugineis. Exp. 

 al. 2Hin. Head ferruginous. Antennae dark fuscous. Abdomen 

 and legs grey. Anterior wings dark fuscous, with an oblique, rather 

 slender whitish fascia beyond the middle, cilia whitish. Posterior 

 wings pale grey, with pale grey cilia" (Ent. Annual, 1858, p. 95). 



Imago. — Head ferruginous. Anterior wings 4-5 mm. ; dark fuscous, 

 tinged with bluish ; a rather slender, whitish, transverse fascia, 

 nearly uniform in width beyond the middle ; cilia dark grey, paler 

 beyond the cilial line. Posterior wings and cilia pale grey. 



Comparison of N. myrtillella and N. floslactella. — N. myrtill- 

 ella is very closely allied to N. salicis aud its allies, and can scarcely 

 be distinguished by constant characters. On the whole it is smaller 

 than N . salicis (I have specimens only one line and a half in expanse), 

 the anterior wings have the same ground colour, and blue gloss, but 

 are not so inclined to yellowish as is N. salicis, the individual scales 

 not having their bases yellowish as in that species, but are more 

 uniformly dark. The fascia is not composed of two opposite spots, 

 but is narrow, of nearly uniform width, less oblique, purer white (less 

 yellow) with a faint silky lustre. The dark scales at base of cilia lie 

 more regularly than in N. salicis and N. floslactella, and form by their 

 ends a regular more strongly curved divisional line, whereas in N. 

 salicis the scales are more irregularly placed, are rather abruptly 

 truncate posteriorly, and some project into the outer half of the cilia. 

 Beyond this line, the cilia are of a purer paler grey, without the 

 yellowish colouring round the apex of the wing, as in N. salicis ; at 

 the anal angle and at the inner margin they are grey. The frontal tuft 

 is bright rusty yellow ; in N. salicis it is more of a brownish-ochreous, 

 otherwise, in both species, the eye-caps and cervical tuft are yellowish- 

 white ; the longer antenna are blackish, the legs grey ; the hinder 

 tibial spotted with pale in the middle and at the end ; the posterior 

 tarsi are pale grey. Since, moreover, N. salicis and TV. myrtillella 

 both vary to some extent in the above-given distinctive characters, 

 the certain recognition of specimens which have not been bred is 

 extremely difficult ; indeed, I must admit that, although I have bred 

 great numbers of both species, yet I should have referred individual 



