NEPTICULA CATHARTICELLA. 339 



NEPTICULA CATHARTICELLA, Stainton. 

 Synonymy. — Species: Catharticella, Sta., " Zool.," 1853, p. 3955 and p. 3958; 

 " Ins. Brit.," p. 299 (1854) ; " Nat. Hist. Tin.," i., p. 178, pi. iv., fig. 2 (1855); 

 " Man.," ii., p. 432 (1859) ; H.-Sch., " Sys. Bearb.," v., p. 356 (1855) ; Frey, 

 "Die Tineen," etc., p. 377 (1856) ; " Linn. Ent.," xi., p. 390 (1857); Sta., "Tin. 

 of Southern Europe," pp. 228-229 (1869); Staud. and Wocke, "Cat.," p. 339 

 (1871); Nolck., " Lep. Fn. Est.," p. 790 (1871); Mill., "Cat. Lep. Alp. Mar.," 

 p. 373 (1875); Hein. and Wocke, " Schmett. Deutsch.," p. 763 (1877); Sand, 

 " Cat. Lep. Auv.," p. 202 (1879) ; Wallgrn., " Ent. Tids.," ii., pp. 130-131 (1881) ; 

 Snellen, " De Vlinders," p. 1006 (1882); Peyer., "Cat. Lep. Als.," 2nd Ed., ii., 

 p. 167 (1882) ; Sorhgn., " Die Kleinschmett. Brandbg.," pp. 309 and 356 (1886) ; 

 Hering, " Stett. Ent. Zeit .," lii., p. 221 (1891); Const., "Bull. Soc. His. Nat. 

 Autun," v., p. 82 (1892) ; Meyr., "Handbook," etc., p. 724 (1895). 



Original description. — In the Zoologist, xi., p. 3955, Stainton 

 writes : " About the middle of last October, I paid a visit one morning 

 to a bush of Rhamnus catharticus, on which I expected to find the 

 autumnal brood of the larvae of N. catharticella," etc. Again, on 

 p. 3958, he writes : " To the species on buckthorn, closely allied to 

 N. septembrella, and not hitherto described, I have given the name of 

 N. catharticella." Stainton afterwards diagnosed (Insecta Britannica, 

 p. 299) the species as follows : " Alis anticis nigris, dilutissime pur- 

 pureo-tinctis, puncto minuto dorsi pone medium albo ; capillis ferru- 

 gineis ; tarsis posticis albidis, fusco-annulatis. Exp. al. 2| lin. Head 

 and face reddish-yellow. Palpi whitish. Antennae fuscous, basal 

 joint whitish. Hinder tarsi whitish, annulated with dark fuscous. 

 Anterior wings black, with a very faint purple tinge, with a minute 

 white spot on the inner margin near the anal angle ; cilia whitish. 

 Posterior wings pale grey, with pale grey cilia." 



Imago. — Head reddish. Anterior wings 5-6 mm. ; black with a 

 faint purple tinge ; a minute white spot on inner margin near the anal 

 angle ; cilia with pale grey bases, outer half white. Posterior wings 

 and cilia pale grey. 



Comparison of N. catharticella with its allies. — N. cartharticella 

 belongs to that section of the genus in which the dark-coloured anterior 

 wings have a single pale spot on the inner margin ; the position of 

 the spot at the anal angle, and not merely a little beyond the middle, 

 distinguishes it from N. intimella, beside the antennas being yellowish 

 in that species and fuscous in N. cartharticella. From N. septembrella 

 it is less easy to separate it, but the pale spot is smaller, and rather 

 more posteriorly placed, and the hind tarsi are annulated with 

 dark fuscous, whereas in N. septembrella they are unicolorous whitish 

 (Stainton). 



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

 catharticus, generally close to the midrib. 



Mine. — The mine is at first very narrow, slightly twisted, and 

 filled with green or greenish-grey excrement, so nearly the colour of 

 the leaf that it is not easily perceptible. At the end of the mine the 

 larva appears distinctly green, and is much more easily seen than 

 when in its long track. As the mine gradually becomes broader it is 

 generally more contorted and the excrement darker (ultimately nearly 

 black), and placed in regular arcs, but still occupying the whole 

 width of the mine. About half-an-inch from the point by which the 

 larva quits the leaf, the excrement becomes more scanty, and occupies 

 only the centre of the mine, leaving a whitish-green margin on either 

 side (Stainton). Frey notes it as " composed of very narrow windings, 



