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  BRITISH 
  LEPIDOPTERA. 
  

  

  Superfamily 
  IV 
  a 
  : 
  ALUCITIDES. 
  

   Historical 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  Alucitides. 
  

  

  Linne, 
  in 
  1758, 
  first 
  grouped 
  (Syst. 
  Nat., 
  xth 
  ed., 
  p. 
  296) 
  the 
  

   plumes 
  under 
  the 
  name 
  " 
  Alucitae, 
  " 
  which 
  he 
  diagnosed 
  as: 
  " 
  Alis 
  

   digitatis 
  fissis 
  ad 
  basin," 
  and, 
  on 
  p. 
  542, 
  quite 
  at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  lepi- 
  

   doptera, 
  he 
  describes 
  Alucita 
  monoclactyla, 
  A. 
  didactyla 
  (in 
  Lonicera 
  

   Qsylosteo),-'' 
  A. 
  tridactyla, 
  A. 
  tetradactyla, 
  A. 
  pentadactyla 
  and 
  A. 
  hexa- 
  

   dactyla. 
  Several 
  authors 
  — 
  Petiver, 
  Ray, 
  Frisch, 
  Reaumur, 
  Rosel, 
  etc. 
  

   — 
  had 
  previously 
  figured 
  various 
  species, 
  and 
  references 
  to 
  these 
  are 
  to 
  

   be 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  synonymy 
  of 
  the 
  earliest 
  writers 
  who 
  used 
  the 
  primi- 
  

   tive 
  form 
  of 
  so-called 
  binomial 
  nomenclature, 
  e.g., 
  Reaumur 
  figures 
  

   and 
  describes 
  monodactyla 
  (Memoires, 
  etc., 
  i., 
  p. 
  323, 
  pi. 
  xx., 
  figs. 
  

   12-15), 
  pentadactyla 
  (p. 
  322, 
  pi. 
  xx., 
  figs. 
  1-4), 
  and 
  hexadactyla 
  

   (p. 
  324, 
  pi. 
  xix., 
  figs. 
  19-21) 
  ; 
  Rosel 
  figures 
  (Ins. 
  Belust., 
  i., 
  phal. 
  4, 
  t. 
  

   5) 
  — 
  pentadactyla, 
  etc. 
  In 
  the 
  Fauna 
  Suecica, 
  2nd 
  ed., 
  p. 
  370, 
  Linne, 
  with- 
  

   out 
  further 
  diagnosis 
  of 
  the 
  group, 
  mentions 
  as 
  Swedish 
  species 
  — 
  Alucita 
  

   monodactyla, 
  A. 
  didactyla 
  (in 
  Geo 
  rivali),* 
  A. 
  tesseradactyla, 
  A. 
  tetra- 
  

   dactyla, 
  A. 
  pterodactyla, 
  A. 
  pentadactyla 
  and 
  A. 
  hexadactyla, 
  whilst, 
  

   in 
  1767, 
  in 
  the 
  Sy 
  sterna 
  Naturae, 
  xiith 
  ed., 
  p. 
  899, 
  he 
  mentions 
  A. 
  

   monodactyla, 
  A. 
  didactyla, 
  A. 
  tridactyla, 
  A. 
  tesseradactyla, 
  A. 
  tetra- 
  

   dactyla, 
  A. 
  pterodactyla, 
  A. 
  pentadactyla 
  and 
  A. 
  hexadactyla. 
  Linne 
  

   would 
  appear 
  from 
  this 
  to 
  exclude 
  A. 
  tridactyla 
  as 
  a 
  Swedish 
  insect, 
  

   although, 
  strangely, 
  he 
  gives 
  the 
  exact 
  diagnosis 
  of 
  tridactyla 
  from 
  the 
  

   Sy 
  sterna 
  Naturae, 
  xth 
  ed., 
  p. 
  542, 
  for 
  his 
  tetradactyla 
  of 
  the 
  Fauna 
  

   Suecica, 
  2nd 
  ed., 
  pp. 
  370-371. 
  In 
  1761, 
  Poda 
  'uses 
  (Ins. 
  Mus. 
  

   Graecensis, 
  p. 
  94) 
  the 
  Linnean 
  generic 
  name 
  Alucita 
  for 
  pentadactyla, 
  

   in 
  his 
  list 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  in 
  the 
  Gratz 
  museum. 
  In 
  1762, 
  Geonroy, 
  

   for 
  no 
  apparent 
  reason 
  whatever, 
  and 
  in 
  full 
  knowledge 
  of 
  Linne 
  

   having 
  named 
  the 
  group 
  " 
  Alucitae 
  " 
  (as 
  shown 
  by 
  his 
  references), 
  

   renamed 
  (Hist, 
  des 
  Insectes, 
  ii., 
  p. 
  90) 
  the 
  plumes, 
  " 
  Pterophorus," 
  

   figuring 
  (pi. 
  xi., 
  fig. 
  6) 
  pentadactyla 
  as 
  "Le 
  pterophore 
  " 
  and 
  diagnos- 
  

   ing 
  Pterophorus 
  as 
  : 
  

  

  Antennae 
  filiformes. 
  Lingua 
  spiralis, 
  alae 
  ramosae, 
  ramis 
  pilosis. 
  Chrysalis 
  

   nuda, 
  horizontalis. 
  

  

  He 
  describes 
  three 
  species 
  (without 
  technical 
  names), 
  viz., 
  pentadactyla 
  

   (with 
  reference 
  to 
  Reaumur, 
  Memoires, 
  i., 
  pi. 
  xx., 
  figs. 
  1-2), 
  mono- 
  

   dactyla 
  (with 
  reference 
  to 
  pi. 
  xx., 
  figs. 
  12-15), 
  and 
  hexadactyla 
  (with 
  

   reference 
  to 
  pi. 
  xix., 
  figs. 
  19-21). 
  In 
  1763, 
  Scopoli 
  (Fnt. 
  Cam., 
  p. 
  

   256) 
  also 
  dealt 
  with 
  the 
  group, 
  referring 
  to 
  Linne's 
  species, 
  and 
  using 
  

   the 
  latter' 
  s 
  name 
  " 
  Alucitae 
  " 
  for 
  it. 
  He 
  maintained, 
  however, 
  Pha- 
  

   laena 
  in 
  a 
  generic 
  sense, 
  and 
  described 
  Phalaena 
  didactyla, 
  P. 
  bijmncti- 
  

   dactyla, 
  P. 
  pterodactyla, 
  P. 
  tridactyla 
  and 
  P. 
  hexadactyla. 
  In 
  1764, 
  

   Muller 
  gives 
  (Faun. 
  Ins. 
  Fridrichsdalina, 
  p. 
  59) 
  descriptions 
  of 
  seven 
  

   plumes, 
  under 
  the 
  name 
  Alucitae 
  [although, 
  strangely 
  enough, 
  he 
  

   diagnoses 
  the 
  group 
  (p. 
  xix) 
  under 
  the 
  name 
  Pterophorus] 
  ,viz., 
  Alucita 
  

   monodactyla, 
  A. 
  didactyla, 
  A. 
  pterodactyla, 
  A. 
  tesseradactyla, 
  A. 
  tetra- 
  

  

  * 
  This 
  error 
  as 
  to 
  foodplant 
  was 
  corrected 
  in 
  the 
  Fauna 
  Suecica, 
  2nd 
  ed., 
  p. 
  

   370, 
  where 
  " 
  Lonicera 
  xylosteo" 
  is 
  changed 
  to 
  " 
  Geo 
  rivali." 
  

  

  