﻿OXYPTILUS 
  PARVIDACTYLA. 
  415 
  

  

  6-6^ 
  lin. 
  Obs. 
  — 
  This 
  is 
  the 
  smallest 
  of 
  the 
  Plume 
  Moths, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  

   also 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  rarest. 
  Its 
  characters 
  are 
  almost 
  exactly 
  the 
  same 
  as 
  

   in 
  the 
  two 
  preceding 
  articles 
  (didactyla, 
  heterodactyla); 
  yet 
  its 
  diminutive 
  

   size, 
  as 
  a 
  species, 
  renders 
  it 
  very 
  distinct 
  (Haworth, 
  Lep. 
  Britannica, 
  

   p. 
  480). 
  

  

  Imago. 
  — 
  13mm. 
  -16mm. 
  Forewings 
  chocolate-brown, 
  with 
  a 
  golden 
  

   tinge 
  ; 
  a 
  white 
  dot 
  before 
  the 
  fissure, 
  another 
  further 
  back 
  ; 
  a 
  white 
  

   oblique, 
  transverse 
  line 
  near 
  the 
  base 
  of 
  fissure 
  crosses 
  both 
  lobes, 
  

   broader 
  on 
  the 
  lower 
  lobe 
  ; 
  nearer 
  outer 
  margin 
  a 
  second, 
  narrower, 
  

   white, 
  transverse 
  line, 
  extending 
  along 
  costa 
  of 
  upper 
  lobe 
  to 
  apex 
  ; 
  

   cilia 
  red-brown, 
  interrupted 
  with 
  white 
  ; 
  in 
  the 
  hollowed 
  portion 
  of 
  

   the 
  dorsal 
  margin 
  are 
  short 
  white 
  fringes, 
  with 
  two 
  small, 
  black, 
  

   oblique 
  dashes. 
  Hindwings 
  pale 
  golden-brown 
  ; 
  the 
  fringes 
  dark 
  

   smoky-brown 
  ; 
  the 
  scale-tuft 
  of 
  the 
  3rd 
  plumule 
  large, 
  black, 
  and 
  

   triangular, 
  edged 
  with 
  white. 
  

  

  Sexual 
  dimorphism. 
  — 
  The 
  males 
  appear 
  to 
  me 
  to 
  average 
  rather 
  

   larger 
  than 
  the 
  females, 
  though 
  I 
  have 
  examples 
  of 
  the 
  former 
  as 
  small 
  

   as 
  any 
  of 
  the 
  latter 
  sex, 
  and 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  females 
  in 
  my 
  long 
  series 
  are 
  

   as 
  large 
  as 
  fair- 
  sized 
  males 
  (Bankes). 
  

  

  Variation. 
  — 
  Although, 
  in 
  the 
  bulk, 
  a 
  long 
  series 
  of 
  this 
  species 
  

   appears 
  to 
  offer 
  little 
  variation, 
  yet, 
  examined 
  in 
  detail, 
  there 
  is 
  con- 
  

   siderable 
  diversity 
  in 
  size, 
  tint, 
  and 
  intensity 
  of 
  the 
  markings, 
  the 
  

   differences, 
  however, 
  rarely 
  leading 
  to 
  any 
  striking 
  aberration, 
  

   although 
  a 
  note 
  in 
  the 
  Ent. 
  Rec, 
  ix., 
  p. 
  41, 
  mentions 
  an 
  " 
  ochreous 
  " 
  

   specimen 
  of 
  this 
  species 
  that 
  was 
  in 
  the 
  " 
  Briggs 
  " 
  collection 
  at 
  the 
  

   time 
  of 
  its 
  dispersal. 
  The 
  British 
  examples 
  are 
  largely 
  of 
  two 
  distinct 
  

   colour 
  forms: 
  (1) 
  A 
  bright 
  red- 
  or 
  golden-brown, 
  the 
  hindwings 
  almost 
  

   as 
  brilliantly 
  tinted 
  as 
  the 
  forewings. 
  (2) 
  A 
  much 
  duller 
  fuscous- 
  

   brown, 
  without 
  the 
  marked 
  glossy 
  sheen 
  of 
  the 
  former, 
  the 
  hindwings 
  

   of 
  a 
  deep 
  fuscous-grey, 
  with 
  scarcely 
  a 
  tinge 
  of 
  red-brown. 
  The 
  former 
  

   occasionally 
  leads 
  up, 
  even 
  in 
  England, 
  to 
  a 
  specimen 
  that 
  distantly 
  

   approaches 
  the 
  bright, 
  but 
  paler, 
  red-brown, 
  or 
  red-ochreous, 
  forms 
  of 
  

   the 
  south 
  and 
  east. 
  Some, 
  again, 
  are 
  much 
  more 
  speckled 
  with 
  white 
  than 
  

   others, 
  presenting 
  a 
  white 
  discal 
  streak, 
  sometimes 
  conspicuous, 
  which 
  is 
  

   even 
  developed, 
  in 
  the 
  best 
  marked 
  examples, 
  into 
  an 
  oblique 
  transverse 
  

   shade, 
  extending 
  across 
  the 
  wing 
  from 
  costa 
  to 
  inner 
  margin. 
  Such 
  ex- 
  

   amples 
  have 
  a 
  well-developed 
  white 
  discal 
  spot, 
  well-marked 
  white 
  trans- 
  

   verse 
  lobal 
  lines, 
  white 
  costal 
  edge 
  to 
  the 
  upper 
  lobe, 
  whilst 
  the 
  two 
  white 
  

   streaks 
  in 
  the 
  outer 
  fringes 
  of 
  the 
  lower 
  lobe, 
  and 
  the 
  white 
  scales 
  on 
  the 
  

   inner 
  margin 
  of 
  the 
  forewing 
  are 
  exceedingly 
  well-developed. 
  In 
  others, 
  

   too, 
  there 
  is 
  much 
  difference 
  in 
  the 
  development 
  of 
  the 
  black 
  scales, 
  not 
  

   only 
  in 
  the 
  upper 
  lobe, 
  but 
  more 
  markedly 
  in 
  the 
  fringe 
  areas 
  of 
  the 
  

   lower 
  lobe, 
  both 
  on 
  the 
  outer 
  and 
  inner 
  margins 
  of 
  the 
  wing; 
  in 
  some, 
  

   there 
  are 
  two 
  quite 
  distinct 
  black 
  spots 
  near 
  the 
  anal 
  angle 
  of 
  the 
  Lower 
  

   lobe, 
  and 
  two 
  others, 
  smaller, 
  further 
  along 
  the 
  inner 
  margin, 
  towards 
  

   the 
  base 
  of 
  the 
  wing, 
  with 
  which 
  the 
  white 
  patches 
  contrast 
  strikingly; 
  in 
  

   others 
  the 
  fringes 
  appear 
  much 
  more 
  uniformly 
  dark 
  grey, 
  neither 
  the 
  

   black 
  nor 
  white 
  patches 
  being 
  distinctly 
  and 
  clearly 
  developed. 
  One 
  

   observes 
  in 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  brightest 
  reddish 
  specimens 
  that 
  the 
  apex 
  o( 
  the 
  

   third 
  plumule, 
  before 
  the 
  scale-tuft, 
  is 
  white, 
  and 
  there 
  are 
  many 
  white 
  

   scales 
  on 
  the 
  plumule, 
  between 
  the 
  tuft 
  ami 
  the 
  base 
  of 
  the 
  wing: 
  in 
  

   the 
  fringes 
  of 
  the 
  hindwing 
  also, 
  besides 
  the 
  recognised 
  scale- 
  tuft, 
  there 
  

   are 
  a 
  few 
  short 
  black 
  scales 
  placed 
  in 
  the 
  long 
  dark 
  grey 
  fringes, 
  much 
  

  

  