viii Mr. H. T. Stainlon's 



that this is the species he intended. The description in the ' Illustrations ' is coin- 

 posed of Haworth's description of semifusca (the sernipurpurella of Stephens), with 

 the addition of a large " trigonal white spot near the apex and a blackish one in the 

 middle; " but that does not constitute the description of conjugella, for the inner mar- 

 gin is left " broadly white " instead of being yellowish. I believe the pulchella of 

 Zeller must come very near Mr. Stephens's description of semifusca, as it possesses 

 the white inner margin of Haworth's semifusca, and the apical trigonal white spot of 

 conjugella: if so, Mr. Stephens has been fortunate in prophetically describing, in 

 1834, an insect which in 1848 we have yet to discover. 



Sp. 7. semifusca, Haworth (fig. 6). 



Erminea semifusca, Haworth, Lep. Brit. 517, 17. 



Ederessa sernipurpurella, Steph. Illust. iv. 249. Wood's fig. 1300. 



Expansion of the wings 5 — 6 lines. Head white. Face white. Palpi whitish. 

 Antennas white, annulated with black. Thorax white, with the sides dark purple. 

 Abdomen fuscous. Legs whitish. Tarsi whitish, spotted with black. Anterior wings 

 of a glossy dark brownish purple, with the inner margin snow-white to near the middle 

 of the wing, where it is interrupted perpendicularly by the commencement, as it were, 

 of a deep purple fascia, which, however, is not visible after it meets the dark portion 

 of the wing; beyond this the inner margin is again white to the anal angle: on the 

 costa are three or four conspicuous white spots near the apex (none of them so large 

 as the hooked one in the preceding species), and from the base to beyond the middle 

 are several smaller ones ; at the base itself a slight ochreous streak is visible in certain 

 lights : cilia deep glossy purple. Posterior wings griseous, with paler cilia. 



This species differs from semitestacella in being smaller, in the anterior wings be- 

 ing of a dark purple, instead of tawny with a slightly purplish tint, and in having dis- 

 tinct white spots on the costa, which in semitestacella are wanting. It differs from 

 conjugella in having the dark portion of the anterior wings of a more uniform and 

 more purplish colour, in the colour of the head and thorax being white instead of yel- 

 lowish, and in the absence of the large hooked white spot on the costa near the apex. 

 From pulchella, which it must very much resemble, it also differs in not having a large 

 hooked white mark on the costa near the apex. It differs from spinosella in the an- 

 terior wings being longer and without the distinct ochreous patch at the base, by which 

 the latter is so easily distinguished. 



I believe this species is not common in collections : its late period of flight (the 

 beginning of August) probably causes it to be much neglected, as at that time wasted 

 specimens of nitidella abound in every hedge. The hedges from which I have ob- 

 tained it are of mixed growth, so that I can say nothing as to what may be its food. 



This species is not known on the Continent, unless indeed it be the spiniella of 

 Zeller, which I have given as a synonyme of semitestacella. The insect Zeller 

 describes appears to be too pale (not sufficiently purple) for this, though somewhat 

 too dark for semitestacella. It may be a species unknown to us. 



