LACHNEIDES. 449 



" Bombyx " group of the Phalaenae, and it received the same appella- 

 tion from Fabricius. Esper and Borkhausen broke up Linne's Bombyx, 

 the former including the Lachneids in the section described as 

 " Bombyces elingues alis reversis," whilst the latter placed them in 

 his " Bombyces incubantes." Schrank appears to have been the first 

 author to have separated them under a distinct name ; this he did in 

 1802, calling {Fauna Boica, ii., Abth. 2, pp. 153-155) the whole 

 group Lasiocampa. He included divmeti under this title. His note 

 reads as follows : 



Lasiocampa. — Antennae bipectinate ; the pectinations inclined towards one 

 another. Two palpi, shaggy, almost shorter than the nose-shaped frontal tuft. 

 Tongue small. Wings at rest deflexed, pointed-roof-shaped — quercifolia, Uicifolia, 

 pruni, pini, potatoria, nibi, quercus, roboris, trifolii, dumeti, rimieola( = catax, Esp., 

 hi., tab. xvi., figs. 1-5), lanestris, catax, neustria and castrensis. 



In 1806, Hiibner, in the Tentamen, founded three general — Laehneis 

 for catax, Eutricha for quercifolia, Trichoda (which, however, was 

 pre-occupied) for neustria. This was the first real subdivision of the 

 superfamily into genera, and, since catax is congeneric with lanestris, 

 it gives us the two oldest genera, applicable to our British species, as 

 Laehneis and Eutricha. Latreille's action, in 1809, appears to have 

 influenced the synonymy of the group. The reference in which he 

 subdivides Bombyx reads [Genera, &c, iv., p. 218) as follows : 



A. a. Saturnia — pavonia, tau. 



b. Bombyx, Lasiocampa, Schrank. 



* Palpi producti et ad rostelli modum conniventes — quercifolia, popu- 



lifolia, potatoria, &c. 

 ** Palpi ad rostelli modum non producti — neustria, castrensis, mori, 

 quercus, lanestris, &c. 

 e. Laria — bueephala, coryli,pudibunda, dispar, versicolora, anachoreta,&c. 



If this has any restrictive influence at all, it would appear that — • 

 mori being already (since 1798) the type of Bombyx, quercifolia the type 

 of Eutricha, Hb., and lanestris the type of Laehneis, Hb. — the type of 

 Lasiocampa must be either quercus, populifolia, potatoria, neustria or 

 castrensis. 



In 1810, Ochsenheimer created the genus Gastropaclta, quoting 

 {Die Schmett., hi., p. 139) Lasiocampa, Schrank and Latreille, as a 

 synonym, but it evidently had more than a generic significance to the 

 author, for he subdivided it into seven sections as follows : 



A. Uicifolia, betulifolia, populifolia, quercifolia, pini, pruni. 



B. Potatoria, lobuiina. 



C. Trifolii, medicaginis, quercus, ruhi. 



D. Taraxaci, dumeti. 



E. a- Populi, crataegi, processionea, pityocampa. 

 /3. Catax, everia, lanestris. 



y. Loti, franconica, castrensis, neustria. 



It is clear, therefore, that Ochsenheimer recognised that his Gastro- 

 pacha was really of family rank, and capable of being grouped into 

 several natural sections. 



In 1811-12, Germar diagnosed {Sys. Gloss. Prodromus, sect, i., pp. 

 16-17 ; sect, ii., pp. 46-50) certain of these groups as follows : 



Eriogaster. — Palpi duo, brevissimi, hirsutissimi, subglobosi. Lingua nulla. 

 Antennae nliformes, (maris peetinatae) — lanestris,* everia, catax, populi,*2)rocessionea,* 



f These actually were written to represent families as well as genera, as follows : 

 — Lachxeides — Laehneis catax. Eutmch/e — Eutricha quercifolia. Trichoda — 

 Trichoda neustria. These correspond exactly with stirps x, xi, and xii of the 

 Yerzeichnixs, where they are described. 



* Species which Germar had himself studied. 



c c 



