PEOUTIA BETULINA. 283 



(2) P. eppingella. — Antennas 26- jointed ; wings shorter, apex more rounded, 

 hind margin less oblique, except for trace of darker markings along nervures ; 

 wings almost indistinguishable in form and colouring from F. casta (nitidella). 



It must be admitted that, unless specimens are in fine condition 

 and similarly set, it is difficult to be quite sure of distinguishing any 

 of these Proutias, Fumeas, and Bacotias, from each other by wing 

 characters, especially when we remember the great variation in size 

 and colour Of F. casta (nitidella) . Such definite structural characters as 

 those of the antenna? are alone to be trusted. The larval case, however, 

 forms a really good point of distinction, although that of Proutia 

 resembles that of Fumea in being straight, and horizontal (not vertical), 

 i.e., applied to the surface on which the larva walks, and not at right 

 angles to it. Both Proutia and Fumea, however, often raise their 

 cases considerably in walking, and it is perhaps the rule, rather than 

 otherwise, for the case to be raised when affixed for pupation. In 

 these respects, therefore, Proutia is not so removed from Luffia as the 

 higher Psychids. Like Fumea the case has a short mouth tube of 

 collapsible silk, covered with small scraps of tolerably uniform size, 

 but not put on with such nice regularity as in Fumea. These scraps 

 appear, in both cases, to be mouthfuls of stuff, i.e., such an amount of 

 material as the larva would remove at one bite. The rest of the case 

 is of soft silk also, and is not collapsible owing to the covering 

 material. Bacotia covers its case with lichens, Fumea with bits of 

 grass stems, Fpichnopteryx (pulla, etc.) with grass blades. Proutia 

 rarely if ever uses any of these materials, lichens, perhaps, most fre- 

 quently. It uses almost anything else in the way of dead vegetable 

 matter, scraps of rotten wood, of bark, of dead leaves ; perhaps if we 

 got the living case at the right moment we should find bits of fresh 

 leaves, bits of leaf thorns, bits of dead plant stems (not grass), and so 

 on. 



Neither of our British species appears in the perfect state until 

 summer is well advanced. They are probably not so rare as one might 

 suppose and are possibly much overlooked, and we have but little doubt 

 that other undescribed species have still to be discovered in this genus. 

 Bruand states that late frosts affect the larvae of this genus most 

 injuriously. He notes that in the two or three years preceding the 

 publication of his Mon. des Psy chides (1853), both/ 3 , anicanella and P. 

 salicolella had become much rarer than hitherto, apparently from this 

 cause. 



Proutia bettjlina, Zeller. 



Synonymy. — Species: Betulina, Zell., "Ms," 1839, p. 283; Speyer, "Isis," 

 1846, p. 35; "Geog. Verb. Schmett.," i., p. 312 (1858); ii., p. 280 (1862) ; " Verb.. 

 Nat. H. Ver. Pr. Rhein.," xxiv., p. 183 (1867) ; Eeutti, " Lep. Bad.," 1st ed., p. 174 

 (1853) ; 2nd ed., p. 306 (1898) ; H.-Sch., " Sys. Bearb.," v., p. 62 (1853) ; " Neu. 

 Schmett.," p. 8, figs. 11-12 (1856) ; Koch, " Schm. S.-W. Deutsch.," p. 372 (1856) ; 

 Hein., "Schmett. Deutsch.," i., p. 187 (1859); Hofm., " Berl. Ent. Zeits.," iv., p. 

 33(1860); Wilde, " Zeits. Nat. Halle," xvi., p. 306 (1860) ; " Prlanz. und Raup. 

 Deutsch.," ii., p. 73, pi. iii., fig. 22 (pupa) (1861); Staud. and Wocke, "Cat.," 1st 

 ed., p. 29 (1861) ; 2nd ed., p. 65 (1871) ; Nolck., " Lep. Faun. Est.," p. 121 (1867); 

 Enaggs, " Ent. Ann.," 1870, p. 136 (1869) ; Giirt., " Verh. Nat. Ver. Briinn," viii., 

 p. 84 (1870) ; Glitz, " J.-B. Nat. Ges. Han.," xxiv., p. 36 (1874) ; Mill., " Cat. Lep. 

 Alp. -Mar.," pt. 3, p. 105 (1875) ; Sint., "Arch. Nat. Liv.," (2), vii., p. 335 (1876) ; 

 Behbei-R, "Abh. Nat. Ver. Brem.," vi., p. 468 (1879); Frey, "Lep. der Schweiz," 

 p. 92 (1880) ; Beyer., " Cat. Lep. Als.," 2nd ed., p. 59 (1880); Ross., "J.-B. Nass. 

 Ver. Nat.," xxxiii-iv., p. 227 (1881); Heyl., " Ann. Soc. Ent. Belg.," xxv., p. 73 

 (1881); Snell., " De Vlinders,"p. 443 (1882); Jourd., " Mem. Soc. Aube," xlvii., p. 46 



