clxviii Remarks on certain Species 



Remarks on some of the Species of the Genus Lithocolletis mentioned 

 in the preceding paper. By H. T. Stainton, Esq. 



The species of this genus have always been great favourites with 

 me ; and though when of the age of Von Nicelli, I was inclined to be 

 of Haworth's opinion that Harrisella {quercifoliella) was a variety of 

 Cratnerella, yet, variety or species, I admired them equally, and my 

 admiration, repeatedly expressed in the words, " Oh ! what a duck ! " 

 induced a college companion (now, alas ! seduced from the pleasant 

 paths of entomology, by the dry and tedious study of the law), to give 

 them the soubriquet of " Stainton's ducks." My better acquaintance 

 with these " ducks " has not diminished my partiality for them ; and 

 every fresh discovery of species or habit is of increasing interest to 

 me. I have therefore derived extreme gratification from the accurate 

 observations and acute discriminative remarks of Von Nicelli, which 

 have again revived one of my day-dreams, viz., a complete mono- 

 graph of the genus, with descriptions and figures of each state of 

 each known species. Whether I shall ever live to realize this scheme 

 is very doubtful at present; every time we make the interesting disco- 

 very that we know one new species, we arrive at the disagreeable con- 

 clusion that we suspect two others ; and, of course, the desire to have 

 no suspicions to record, will tend continually to the indefinite post- 

 ponement of this day-dream. 



Remarks. 



1. From Von Nicelli's observations concerning his mode of collect- 

 ing the pupae of L. Saportella {hortella, F.) in the fallen leaves, we 

 find an easy method of obtaining the pupae of those species which only 

 inhabit lofty trees, or the higher branches of trees of moderate size. 



2. L. coryli, Nicelli. Von Nicelli's description of the mode of 

 feeding of the larva is so accurate, that I was able to find the larvae of 

 this species (previously not known as British) without any difficulty, 

 about the middle of July ; from which period to the middle of August 

 I collected many pupae, and reared therefrom the perfect insects. The 

 leaves gradually become more folded as the larva grows larger, and 

 the pupa generally has the leaf completely folded over, by which, and 

 by the upper skin of the leaf becoming browner, the size of the larva 

 may be easily known. Unless the larvae are near their transformation 

 to the pupa state, it is difficult to rear them, as they cannot obtain a 

 sufficient supply of food before the leaf they inhabit withers, and they 

 have no power of moving to another. 



