Notices of New Books, 49*31 



lished by entomologists who can neither give their time nor their 

 money to the public ? 



These remarks are statistical, economical, general : now for a 

 remark entomological. So little is known of the larvae of our Micros 

 in general, and of our Nepticulae in particular, that the entomologist 

 eagerly seizes on every scrap of information respecting them. I sought 

 at once to devour and digest the store of facts which I expected to find 

 recorded on these minims of Lepidoptera ; but I rose from the investi- 

 gation somewhat dissatisfied. My readers shall judge whether reason- 

 ably so. For the larvae of the genus Nepticula Mr. Stainton gives 

 this general definition : — 



" The larvae are especially distinguished by the absence of true 

 horny legs, and the undeveloped condition of the membranous legs, 

 which here serve alike for legs and prolegs, none having the coronet 

 of little hooks ; with the exception of the segment behind the head, 

 and the anal segment, each segment bears a pair of these unusual legs, 

 making eighteen in all, although the third pair are less developed than 

 the others, and more easily overlooked." — p. 2. 



The word "distinguished" appears susceptible of improvement or 

 qualification : they are distinguished from Macro- Lepidoptera by this 

 character, but my eyes greatly deceive me if they are not by this 

 very character associated with other mining Micros ; but my objection 

 is not confined to what may very possibly be a mere error in the 

 choice of words. The criticism I am about to make touches a ques- 

 tion of fact. Waiving the rule which I believe to be absolute, " that 

 no winged insect can have more than six legs in any of its states," 

 I admit that these six may be entirely wanting, or may be reduced to 

 so rudimentary a state as to assume the appearance of a mere point, 

 or even of a fold in the skin ; and I admit also that the ventral 

 adhering disks may, like analogous disks on the head or throat of 

 fishes, or like the prostrate belly of mollusks, serve the purpose of 

 legs as far as regards prehension, and, in some degree, locomotion ; 

 nevertheless, experience teaches that there is an orderly disposition, 

 a general rule, for the location of both disks and legs as regards the 

 segments on which they may occur. The larvae of Lepidoptera have 

 thirteen segments ; No. 1 is the head ; Nos. 2, 3 and 4 bear the legs ; 

 No. 5 is without appendages ; Nos. 6 to 12 bear the disks ; and No. 13 

 has two appendages, infinitely various in structure and function in 

 different genera and families. Now the disks are liable to disappear 

 from, or to become rudimentary on, the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th 

 segments ; but they are not liable to appear on the 5th, and the asser- 



