382 



BRITISH LEPIDOPTERA. 



wings apparent. Dorsal plates on pro-, meso-, and metathorax, black- 

 brown and shining, and a less one on the 1st abdominal. On the 

 venter of each segment, from mesothorax to 7th abdominal, is a small 

 brown spot shining through (nerve ganglia) ; the tracheae that are 

 subcutaneous are also very evident as well as some whitish tubes in the 

 1st and 2nd abdominal segments (? urinary tubes full of urates, similar 

 tubes occur further back in other ? Psychids) ; the interior is marked 

 by white egg-masses ; and except a posterior chitinous projection there 

 is no very definite anal structure; abdominal segments 8 and 10 project 

 ventrally as mammillae (Chapman). The body of the living female has 

 all the soft appearance of that of the larva of a wasp or bee, and is of a 

 pale dirty whitish colour, except the upper side of the head and 

 thoracic segments, which are brown ; the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, 

 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th segments of the body are furnished 

 at the sides with a pair of spiracles, from which the tracheae 

 may be seen to radiate through the thin skin of the body ; on the 

 underside of the body is a row of nine small brown spots in the middle 

 of the segments, commencing on the segment next to the head, those 

 on the thoracic segments being close together between the minute 

 rudiments of legs. The head has three deep circular impressions in 

 front, forming a triangle ; the eyes appear to be merely 'irregular black 

 spots, with the surface continuous and destitute of facets ; the antennae 

 are rudimental, consisting of a minute exarticulated pair of appendages 

 on the underside of the front of the head ; between the rudimental 

 antennae there is a transverse impression in the place of the mouth, 

 which is alternately puffed out and withdrawn, but no opening is 

 visible ; the legs are minute tubercles ; the body is terminated by a 

 small fleshy lobe or appendage, beneath which is a fleshy proleg or 

 wart. The insect has a very strong vermicular motion, contracting 

 segment after segment, considerably resembling in this respect the 

 incipient pupa of some Hymenoptera. It twists the extremity of its 

 body about in various directions, especially upwards, with considerable 

 energy* (Westwood). The female is 5-6 lines long, of a yellow colour. 

 The head is horny, brown above, beneath somewhat whitish, with 

 black eye- spots and short antennae. The shoulder plates are shining 

 dark brown, with white borders. On the back of the 1st abdominal is 

 a brown corneous spot. Legs small, white, the horny plate on the 

 anal segment dark brown. Many examples show the dorsal lines on 

 the back between which is the dorsal vessel (Hofmann). Barrett 

 describes the living female as "devoid of scales, wings, legs, and 

 antennae," and as being in appearance a mere maggot with a fat 

 pinkish-white or brownish-pink body. The head is a mere mask of 

 horny, brown, shining substance like that usual in larvae, rounded in 

 front, but without regular eye lobes or mouth organs, but having faint 

 indications of rudimentary antennae in the form of short glassy points. 

 The 2nd and 3rd segments (pro- and mesothorax) are protected by, 

 in each case, a large, thin, dark brown, horny plate, which covers the 

 back and extends down the sides ; the 4th segment (metathorax) has a 

 smaller paler plate. Across the lower side of these three segments are 

 slight ridges. The anal segment has a short, bluntly projecting, ovi- 



* This ? is the Scotch species = A. opacella, but is wrongly referred (Proc. 

 Zool. Soc. Lond., 1854, p. 221) to P. villosella. 



