248 BRITISH LEPIDOPTERA. 



the winged N. monilifera were few, the apterous insect more plentiful. 

 In 1871 and 1875 N. monilifera was not bred, although plenty of the 

 apterous forms occurred. He states that he had found the cases of 

 both forms on oak, pear, apple, plum, cherry, ash, beech, elm and 

 poplar, at from 2ft. -6ft. from the ground. [Gregson's more or less 

 unintelligible note (Ent., vi., p. 409) might refer to this species ; the 

 description, however, rather suggests L. lapidella. If he really collected 

 larva? and these produced "larva? " as he says, then the insect may 

 be ferchaultella, but we suspect he first collected cases, which possibly 

 contained eggs, as he says " no perfect insects were obtained." There 

 should be no difficulty in the way of Irish collectors now to correctly 

 place the Howth hibernicella.] Hudd writes (Cat. Lep. Bristol, pp. 

 68-69): " Larvae of this peculiar insect, in cases that are shorter and 

 rounder than those of Solenobia inconspicuella, used to be plentiful on 

 some old trees in Mr. Harding's garden, at Stapleton, on ground now- 

 covered by the Bristol gas-works. Messrs. Harding, Vaughan, and 

 myself bred hundreds of specimens, all apterous females, not a single 

 male appearing during several years. Though numerous larva? were 

 turned out by Mr. Vaughan and others, on old fruit-trees, at Redland 

 and elsewhere, the species seems to have quite died out in this neigh- 

 bourhood, and there seems to be now little hope of our discovering the 

 male, or of solving the mystery connected with this curious species." 

 Some doubt has since been expressed as to Boyd's accuracy. It is 

 now clearly proved that his descriptions of the cases are critical and 

 may be relied upon. His evidence thoroughly cleared up the error of 

 observation which Harding had made. Not only was the supposed 

 apterous ? N. monilifera, not a Naryciid, it was not even a Solenobiid, 

 and exhibited characters otherwise restricted to the Macro-Psychids. 

 There can be no doubt that Foucart's note (Pet. Nouv. Ent., i., pp. 

 523-4) refers to this species. He states that in the commencement 

 of July, 1875, hecollecteda large number of cases of L. lapidella, Goeze, 

 containing pupa?, on the trunks of trees (on the fortifications and in 

 woods) , and, some days after, bred a number of females, no males appear- 

 ing from some 300 cases. He isolated the females, and found that the 

 eggs laid were quite fertile, the parthenogenetic young forming cases 

 from the material of which those of the parents were composed. Foucart 

 adds that he examined some " milliers " of cases on the trees, and 

 convinced himself that these also had produced only females, observing 

 that the ? pupa of this species does not come out of its case on the 

 emergence of the pupa. 



Parthenogenesis in L. ferchaultella.- — Larva? were received 

 during June, from Horsham (Fletcher), Deal (Dadd), Bowers- Gifford 

 (Whittle), and others obtained by myself at Broxbourne. I have bred 

 many examples from these larva?, all females, but have seen no males, 

 and there can be no doubt that many (probably all) unquestionably 

 lay fertile eggs, young larva? having appeared in the separated as well 

 as the unseparated cases, the results (as well as the habits of the 

 insects themselves) suggesting strongly that parthenogenesis is the 

 normal mode of reproduction for this species. The eggs laid by the 

 female that first emerged from Broxbourne cases, and that was at once 

 isolated, hatched about August 7th. The females that emerged from 

 the cases sent by Mr. Whittle, were isolated throughout, laid eggs on 

 July 16th that hatched on August 14th. Eggs laid by females, from 



