CLASSIFICATION OF THE PSYCHIDES. 117 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE PSYCHIDES. 



Eeaumur tells us that the larvae of the Psychids were known to 

 Aristotle, who called them " Xylothoros," a name that has been trans- 

 lated into Latin as " Ligniperda," as if the insects lived on and digested 

 wood instead of simply making their cases of it, although very many 

 cover themselves with small pieces of grass, leaves, and lichen in 

 preference. Pliny knew, however, that they were true lepidopterous 

 larva?, and Eeaumur expresses the opinion that the cases are hardened 

 by the solid particles for the protection of the larva, the silk being in- 

 sufficiently firm, whilst he considers that grass is generally utilised, 

 not because it represents the food -plants of the larva using it, but 

 because it is more easily cut oft' and attached to the cases. The 

 species noticed by Eeaumur in the MSmoires, iii., pp. 143-204, are 

 Apterona crenulella, Fumea roboricolella, F. casta, F. crassiorella, 

 ? Acanthopsyche opacella, ? Pachythelia villosella, Ltiffia lapidella, 

 Bacotia septum, and Solenobia triquetrella (? 8. inconspicuella), many of 

 which appear to be fairly recognisable ; in fact, Eeaumur's description 

 of L. lapidella is the only complete life-history of the insect 

 known to us. Poda, in 1761, described (Ins. Mas. Grace.) a Psychid 

 (which he considered to be a Tenthredo) as Tenthredo hirsuta, whilst 

 Scopoli, in 1763, referred two species to the Phryganeids as Phryganea 

 pectinicornis and P. (labia. In 1762, Geoffroy described {Hist, des 

 Imectes) two species, one having a case covered with longitudinal straws, 

 the other with a case composed of transverse straws (the former being 

 named afterwards palearis in Fourcroy's Ent. Paris. He also de- 

 scribed (loc. cit.) Luffia lapidella and a Solenobia (J triquetrella) 

 which were named in the later work lichenosa and lapidosa respectively ; 

 as also Narycia monilifera and Diplodoma herminata, the species 

 now bearing Geoffroy's (Fourcroy's) names, although generally spoken 

 of as N. melanella and D. marijinepunctclla. Linne, in the Systema 

 Naturae, xiith. ed., 1767, vaguely diagnosed a Scandinavian species 

 among the Phalenae-Bombyces as : " Bomby.v atra, elinguis, tota atra, 

 magnitudo vix muscam carnariam superat." Scarcely one of the 

 descriptions of the larger species, however, to which names were 

 attached, can certainly be connected with a known species, and one of 

 the first descriptions that can be thus applied is that of Bombyx unicolor, 

 Hufnagel, Bed. Mag., ii., p. 418, in 1766. In 1767, Pallas first drew 

 attention to the phenomenon of parthenogenesis, and wrote {Nova 

 Acta Pltys. Acad. Caes. Leop. Carol., p. 430) : " Phalsenarum biga, 

 quarum alterius fsemina artubus prorsus destituta, nuda atque vermi- 

 formis, alterius, glabra quidem et impennis, attamen pedata est, 

 atriusque vero, sine habito cum masculis commercio, faacunda ova 

 parit." He described and figured {torn, cit., p. 435, pi. vii., figs. 1-5, 

 10) Fumea casta and Canephora unicolor, whilst in 1776, Denis and 

 Schinermiiller (Wien. Verzeichniss) enumerated seven species — Tinea 

 graminella ( = unicolor), T. viciella, T. Mrsutella (J nee Hb.), T.muscella 

 (/ atra, Esp.), T. bombycella, T. pectinella, and T. plumella {? pulla, 

 Esp.). In their description of T. viciella, these authors assert (loc. 

 cit., pp. 292-293) that there is no female, and express the opinion that 

 the eggs hatch directly from the pupa, without the intervention of a 

 male, an error of observation that can readily be understood, when 

 the egg-laying habits have once been noticed. Between 1781 and 



