NEPTICULA QUINQUELLA. 343 



a small round silvery- white spot between latter and apex ; cilia silvery- 

 grey. Posterior wings dark grey with paler cilia. 



Mine. — The larva mines the leaves of oak, preferring low bushes 

 to trees. The mine is very narrow, and excessively contorted, as 

 though rolled into a ball, thus occupying a very confined space 

 (Meyrick) . 



Larva. — The greenish larva of N. quinquella may be distinguished 

 from the other oak-feeding larvse with great ease, by the character of 

 the dorsal vessel ; this is very distinct, forming a row of conspicuous 

 dark spots down the back, which are easily perceptible through the 

 leaf, when held up to light (Meyrick). 



Time of appearance. — The species appears to be single-brooded, 

 the imagines appearing from May-July, from larvre that feed up in 

 October-November. Imagines were taken on oak-trunks, at West 

 Wickham, June 30th, 1847 (Bedell) ; in profusion, on Bishop's Fence, 

 Addington, June 28th, 1859 (Stainton), whilst in Stainton's collec- 

 tion are specimens labelled as taken June 9th, 1848, on palings, at 

 Beckenham, and on July 7th, 1852, at West Wickham, on oak-trunks. 

 Commence to emerge in the middle of June, and continue to do so 

 throughout July at Cambridge (Meyrick). Meyrick found larvse, 

 mostly young, on November 6th, 1876, at Cambridge (when the mines 

 of the other three oak-feeding species were almost all empty). A 

 week later they were in extraordinary profusion, the oakbushes (that 

 stand pretty thickly in their locality) having every leaf holding literally 

 from twenty to thirty larva. Many held from 50 to 100, and in one 

 large leaf Meyrick counted 123. The effect upon the appearance of 

 the bushes was very conspicuous, barely a vestige of green remaining, 

 although, at that season, a casual observer would doubtless have set 

 it down as the result of natural decay. Warren says that from 

 1877-79 the mines were equally abundant in the neighbourhood of 

 Cambridge, after which the species seemed to disappear, only particular 

 trees produced them, and then only in small numbers. Later they 

 became abundant again. Farren found them in the greatest profusion 

 in 1892, " the larvaa being full-fed at the beginning of October. In 

 one plantation, about a mile from Cambridge, every oak-leaf seemed 

 to have many mines. One leaf contained 72. The imagines emerged 

 in May, 1893, and, on a bright day, the trunks of the oak trees were 

 crowded with the moths. There were literally millions." 



Localities. — Cambbidge : Cambridge (Meyrick), Madingley, nr. Cambridge 

 (Warren). Essex: Wickham Bishops (Cansdale). Kent: West Wickham (Bedell), 

 Beckenham (Stainton). Suffolk: Flixton (Cruttwell). Suebey; Addington 

 (Stainton). 



nepticula sericopeza, Zeller. 



Synonymy. — Species : Sericopeza, Zell., " Isis," 1839, p. 215 ; " Linn. Ent.,"iii., 

 p. 325, fig. 48 (1848) ; Sta., "Ins. Brit,," p. 301 (1854) ; " Man.," ii., p. 433 (1859) ; 

 "Ent. Ann.," 1864, p. 170; H.-Sch., " Sys. Bearb.," figs. 841-2 (1853) ; v., p. 358 

 (1855) ; Frey, " Linn. Ent.," xi., p. 402 (1857) ; Const., " Cat. Lep. Saone-et-Loire," 

 p. 354 (1866) ; Frey, " Stett. Ent. Zeit.," 1871, p. 125 ; Wocke, " Ibid.," pp. 428- 

 430; Nolcken, " Lep. Fn. Est.," p. 792 (1871) ; Staud. and Wocke, "Cat.," p. 339 

 (1871) ; Hein. and Wocke, " Schmett. Deutsch.," p. 764 (1877) ; Sand, " Cat. Lep. 

 Auv.," p. 202 (1879) ; Warren, " Ent. Mo. Mag.," xviii., pp. 142-143 (1881) ; 

 Wallgrn., "Ent. Tids.," ii., p. 130 (1881) ; Curd, "Bull. Soc. Ent. Ital.," xv., p. 109 

 (1883) ; Warren, " Ent. Mo. Mag.," xx., pp. 186-187 (1884) ; Sorhagen, " Die 

 Kleinschmett. Brandbg.," p. 310 (1886) ; Meyrick, " Handbook," etc., p. 725 (1895). 

 ? Louisella, Sircom (teste Stainton). Acerella, Sta., " Ent. Annual," 1864, p. 171. 



