TALEPORIA TUBTJLOSA. 219 



similar to that of T. politella, except that it also is smaller. The 

 original description of T. politella reads as follows : 



Taleporia politella, Ochs. ( — lefebvriella, Dup. =minorella, Dup. = clandcstin- 

 ella, Zell. — Alis anticis oblongis lividis immaculatis : posticis cinereis, ciliis 

 albidis. ? with brown antennas and feet ; head, thorax and abdomen dark reddish- 

 brown; anal tuft yellow-grey. Cases near Vienna in May (Ochsenheimer, Die 

 Schmett., iv., p. 200). — The cases are generally found on palings, walls, &c, in 

 May ; the imagines emerge during June. It has a wide distribution throughout 

 central Europe, being recorded from: — Austro-Hungary : Vienna (Ochsenheimer), 

 Hungary (Fischer), Trieste (Zeller), Croatia (Frey), Dalmatia, Tyrol (Mann). 

 France : Eure-Bouchevilliers, Paris (Duponchel), Besancon (Bruand), Indre — 

 Nohant (Sand). Germany: Bavaria (Herrich-Schaffer), Freiberg. Lahr (Frey). 

 Bouiiania : Slanic (Caradja). Bussia : St. Petersburg (Erschoff and Feild). 

 Switzerland: Lausanne (Frey). 



Only two other true Taleporias appear to be known, viz., T. borealis 

 and T. improvisella, the former a Scandinavian, the latter a Spanish, 

 species, but also recorded from Asia Minor. The synonymy and 

 original description of these species are as follows : 



T. borealis, Wocke, " Stett. Ent. Zeit.," xxiii., pp. 66-7 (1862) ; xxv., p. 209 

 (1864); Staud. and Wocke, "Cat.," p. 266, no. 1328 (1871); Wlgrn., "Bih. 

 Svensk. Vet.-Ak. Handl.," iii. (5), p. 32, no. 1 (1875). — J . Capillis dilutissime 

 ferrugineis, alis anterioribus fuscescenti-griseis immaculatis. ? fusco-grisea, lana 

 anali albida. Exp. alar, c? 19mm. Sack 18mm. -19mm. long. Bossekop pupse — 

 May 25th, emerged commencement of July ; Skaaddavara, July 15th, 1861, 3 . 

 Hammerfest, empty cases, August (Wocke, Stett. Ent. Zeitung, xxiii., pp. 66-7). 



T . improvisella, Staud., " Stett. Ent. Zeit.," xx., p. 234 (1859) ; " Hor. Soc. 

 Ent. Boss.," xv., pp. 267-8 (1879) ; Sta., " Tin. S. Eur.," pp. 140, 143, 322 (1869) ; 

 Staud. and Wocke, " Cat.," p. 105, no. 1158 (1861); 2nd ed., p. 266, no. 1326 (1871). 

 ■ — Talaeporia improvisella. — Capiterlavo; alis griseis subsplendentibus. g 20mm. 

 Kopf gelb, Flugel grau mit matteni Glanze. Bei T. pubicomis, aber viel grosser 

 und mit viel matterem Glanze. Nur eine & bei Granada (Staudinger, Stett. Ent. 

 Zeitung, xx., p. 234). The Asia Minor localities are Kerasclere and Amasia, where 

 it was captured in May. 



Egg-laying. — Until fertilised the ? hangs on the outer part of 

 the case, its ovipositor downwards, its body forming a straight cylin- 

 der, its abrupt anal end being made more pronounced by the anal 

 tuft. It bends round its body for oviposition, pushing the ovipositor 

 between the larval case and the empty pupa-skin, and filling the larval 

 case with eggs and the silky wool from the anal tuft, some of the silk often 

 overflowing around the edge of the case. The deposition of eggs out- 

 side the case is quite abnormal. Zeller notes that the eggs are laid in 

 the free end of the case and mixed with the anal hairs ; he also notices 

 that the wandering habit of the larva before pupation necessarily 

 carries them at times to some distance from their food and suggests 

 that this is probably the cause of the rarity of the insect in some 

 seasons. Healy states that even when the eggs are not laid in the 

 case they are always covered with down, the female moving the anal 

 segments rapidly over the eggs ; Freer states that when laid loosely 

 they are invested with hair like those of Porthetria dispar. Chapman 

 says that the female lays her eggs within 2 hours, most of them in 1* 

 hours, after copulation. As she completes the process she inflates her 

 body with air so as to maintain sonffething of her previous bulk, and 

 portions of her body are quite transparent. She is previously very 

 white and opaque at the intersegmental membrane areas where the eggs 

 shine through. In this habit of inflation, the 2 T. iubulosa resembles those 

 of Solenobia, the Fumeas do not so inflate themselves. The eggs are 

 placed in the case throughout its Avhole length, except the small 



