162 BRITISH LEPIDOPTEKA. 



males are characterised by a peculiar speckling — pale grey or whitish — 

 on a dark ground. Hofmann states that " the bend of the costal margin, 

 the size and shape of the wing, as well as the size and number of the 

 spots forming the speckling, undergo numerous, though small, modifi- 

 cations. With age, examples tend to become yellowish. The antennas 

 and tarsi are sometimes distinctly ringed, at others not ringed at 

 all. The neuration varies to a great extent in the same species, some- 

 times even the neuration of the two hind- wings of the same specimen 

 is quite different." With regard to the females, Hofmann observes 

 that " those of the different species are very similar, and only show 

 slight variations of size, colour, and the genital organs. The antennas 

 and legs offer considerable irregularity in the number and form of the 

 segments, and one notices occasionally that a segment is divided into two 

 in one specimen, whilst there is no trace of the constriction in another." 

 He considers, however, that certain characters of the antennas and 

 legs, only to be made out by the aid of the microscope, are of value in 

 their discrimination. The habits of the apterous females are very 

 similar. They are provided with well-developed legs, emerge from the 

 case, and after copulation (and without re-entering the puparium) lay 

 their eggs in the larval case (by means of the long, jointed, telescopic 

 ovipositor), and cover them with the silky wool from the anal tuft. 

 The pupae of both sexes emerge from the cocoon fcr a considerable dis- 

 tance before the emergence of the imago. In common with that of the 

 Taleporiids, the pupa has an anterior patch of dorsal spines on abdominal 

 segments 3-8, the tubercles placed as in the larva, long recurved hairs 

 (replacing the ordinary setaa) on abdominal segments 8-10, and two 

 small dorso-anal spikes. Although the females have very aborted 

 wings, their pupas have the wing-cases well-marked. The larvae are 

 all very similar, the tubercles generalised, except that ii tends to shift 

 slightly behind i ; the prolegs short, and the third pair of true legs strong, 

 as is the case in all Psychids. The most constant characters, Hofmann 

 asserts, are to be "found in the form and size of the cases — the colours 

 and material used, of course, vary with the locality, whilst the form 

 and size are variable only in agreement with the differences in the 

 manner of life and their environment " — and are, therefore, we 

 presume, considered to be specific. 



The female Solenobia is very similar in general appearance to those 

 of Taleporia and Fumea. The head and prothorax are retractile, and 

 all three thoracic segments have shiny dorsal corneous plates. The 

 feet are distinctly segmented, and the terminal joints of the tarsi bear 

 hooked claws. The eyes are large, round, black, and distinctly faceted 

 (but there are no ocelli). The antennae are threadlike, formed of 

 Cylindrical segments bearing single hairs, and the segments increase 

 in size so as to form a slight swelling just before the apex. 



This appears to be a purely Palasarctic genus, almost entirely con- 

 fined to Europe, and consisting of about eleven closely allied species — 

 clathrella, pallida, mannii, cembrella (pineti), triquetrella, fumosella, 

 suifunella, wockii, i?iconspicuella, nickerlii, and lichenella. So little 

 known are they that it is quite possible that most of the species may 

 occur in Britain. We have, therefore, given brief summarised descrip- 

 tions of all the species. The perfect insects emerge in the spring, 

 the males appearing on the wing from March to May, specimens very 

 rarely extending their time of emergence beyond the latter month. 



