LUFFIA LAPIDELLA. 235 



tella, Dup., "Cat. Meth.," p. 359 (1846). Roboricolella, Birch., " Ent. Mo. Mag.," 

 iii., p. 147 (1866). [? Intermediella, Morris, " N. H. Brit. Moths," iv., p. 11, pi., 

 xcvd (lcvii), p. 19 (1870)]. Hibernicella, Gregs., "Ent.," vi., pp. 409-10 (1873). 

 Conspureatella, in part, Mill., " Lep. Cat. Alp. -Mar.," p. 295 (1875). Triquetrella, 

 Dale, " Lep. Dors.," p. 47 (1886) ; Bankes, " Pr. Dors. N. H. Club.," x., p. 206 

 (1889). 



Original description. — Phalaena Tinea lapidella, die Steinmoss- 

 motte, Geoff., Ins., ii., p. 204, no. 58. La teigne des pierres a fourreau 

 rond en capuchon (Noch nie zur Yerwandlung gebracht). Beaum., 

 Ins., iii., pi. xv., figs. 1, 2, 3 [Goeze, Ent. Beytrage (zu Lin., 8.N., 

 xii), iii., 4, p. 168] . 



[N.B. — Geoffrey's description referred to by Goeze reads as follows : Tinaea 

 lapidum, involucre conico recurvo (Beaum., Ins., iii., pi. xv., figs. 1-3). La teigne 

 des pierres a fourreau rond en capuchon. J'ai ramasse plusieurs fois la chenille de 

 cette teigne qui est tres-commune ; elle est toujours morte sans me donner l'insecte 

 aile. M. de Beaumur n'a jamais pu l'avoir non plus. Cette chenille est petite, 

 brune, couverte d'un fourreau qu'elle se file. Ce fourreau est conique, pointu et un 

 peu recourbe comme un capuchon. Le dessus est tout couvert de poussiere de 

 pierres que l'insecte sait-y attacher. La chenille se trouve sur les pierres. Elle se 

 nourrit d'un petit lichen qui recouvre les vieux murs et les rend tout verts (Histoire 

 des Insectes, p. 204).] 



Historical note on Luffia lapidella. — This insect was first 

 noticed by M. de la Voye, who, on August 28th, 1666, communicated to 

 the Academie des Sciences (France) a paper on the species. His account 

 of the insect is a very satisfactory one, although he considered that the 

 larvae ate stones. The cases that he described had been found on the old 

 walls of the Benedictine Abbey of Caen, a locality not very far 

 removed from the Channel Islands, where Mr. Luff has this year 

 (1899) found and reared them so abundantly. Beaumur corrected and 

 amplified this description in the MSmoires, iii., pp. 179 et seq., and gave 

 figures of the case, larva and female (PI. xv., figs 1-6, 17-19). It was 

 afterwards described by Geoffroy (Hist, des Ins., p. 204), and later named 

 lichenosa by him in Eourcroy's Ent. Paris., p. 336. Just previous to 

 this, however, Goeze had named the insect lapidella, whilst in 1838, 

 Zeller named it lapicidella, both the latter authors taking as their 

 types the same bibliographical references to Eeaumur and Geoffroy. 

 JJuponchel, however, independently described the male insect as pecti- 

 nella, and Guenee averred (Ann. Soc. Ent. France, 2nd ser., iv., p. 11) 

 that it was the most common Micro-Psychid, the cases occurring in 

 hundreds, and the imago entering the rooms even in the middle of 

 Paris. It was Guenee, too, who referred Duponchel's pectinella to this 

 species, although he himself adopted Zeller's name, changing its form, 

 however, to lapidicella. The male has not yet been bred in Britain, 

 although we refer cases obtained by Bankes in Purbeck, and by 

 Eichardson in Portland, hereto, and suspect that the cases obtained by 

 Edleston, on an old limestone wall between Conway and Llandudno, 

 as well as Gregson's Psyche hibernicella, should also be so referred, 

 but until the male is bred there must always be the suspicion that 

 the British insects may be L. ferchaidtella (pomonac). 



Imaoo. — Anterior wings 9mm.-12-25mm. in expanse ; dark grey or 

 leaden in colour, with irregular fuscous reticulations ; a black line 

 (broken) on hind margin, a curved discoidal mark, and two others 

 basal to it ; fringes unicolorous (although marginal spots sometimes 

 enter basal part). Posterior wings pale leaden grey ; no reticulations ; 

 nervures rather darker, ending in fairly developed marginal dots that 

 enter the otherwise unicolorous fringes. 



