Insects. 



6463 



the moors (occasionally on stone walls) ; in order to get them it is necessary to turn 

 over these big stones (not a very easy job, by the way), as these little rascals prefer the 

 sides nearest the ground. These insects appear in the perfect state from the 1st to the 

 20th of May, and are very active on the wing, and, what is very singular in this genus, 

 one rarely gets a female. The female chrysalis is seen projecting from the case, — 

 the insect is missing ; whether its economy is different from that of S. inconspicuella, 

 or they become a prey to spiders, Coleoptera, &c, I know not: what females I 

 possess are chiefly bred: the anal aperture in the female is considerably less woolly 

 than in S. inconspicuella. These Solenobiae are a very difficult group : it is impos- 

 sible to know much about them without a deal of attention to their habits ; but if my 

 insect is not the true S. triquetrella, depend upon it is a new species. The cases 

 found on granite rocks in North Wales may some time or other be bred. Another 

 species occurs in extraordinary numbers on an old limestone (I think) wall between 

 Conway and Llandudno ; it is like none that I know of : I bred an apterous female 

 out of a lot of three cases (that I thought were not going to produce anything), and it 

 was of a yellowish colour and exceedingly active on its legs. Again, on some fir trees 

 in the centre of a large wood at Rudheath, Cheshire, I met with some twenty cases, 

 from which I bred a single female. Then there are cases on beech trees which I find 

 at Dunham Park ; for years these only produced females : these larvae take two years 

 to arrive at perfection. I send some of these larvae by the post for your artist to figure, 

 and I will shortly send you some larvee of S. inconspicuella, from beech trees 

 at Preslwich, which regularly produce both sexes every year, and afterwards you shall 

 have some of the millstone-grit larva?, so that you can compare all three together. 

 Perhaps between us we shall throw a little light on the subject. It is very odd how 

 this group is neglected by collectors generally : I am sure if they were systematically 

 worked a good many species would turn up. — R. S. Edleston ; Boivdon, near Man- 

 chester, January 17, 1859. [We are extremely obliged to Mr. Edleston for the above 

 valuable communication. On a close scrutiny of the insects sent, and a comparison 

 with Bruand's work, we have come to the conclusion that the S. triquetrella of that 

 author is, in point of fact, our S. inconspicuella (the S. triquetrella of the German 

 authors being a larger, darker insect), and we cannot ourselves distinguish the 

 S. triquetrella of Mr. Edleston from his S. inconspicuella, individual specimens of the 

 former differing more from one another than they do from S. inconspicuella. Indeed 

 the result of this investigation has been greatly to shake our faith in the specific dis- 

 tinctness of S. Douglasii. The neuration of the hind wings of these insects varies to 

 a very curious degree in the same species, two veins being either separate at 

 their starting points, or starting from the same point, or even fused together for some 

 distance, whereas, in one specimen we possess, one of these two veins has disappeared 

 altogether! But we admit that the difference of habit and periods of appearance 

 has great weight with us, and possibly the species which does not appear till 

 May may be really distinct from the early April insect, S. inconspicuella. Time will 

 show. — H. T. Stainlon. — Intelligencer.'] 



Observations on Butalis grandipennis. — On the 19th inst., being well in advance of 

 ray printers, I resolved to open the campaign by visiting the classic ground of 

 Wimbledon Common. My object was to try and obtain, either by inspection 

 or beating, the larvae of Coleophora albicosta ; but either I was not at the precise spot 

 frequented by that insect, or else the larvae are not obtainable at this period of the 

 year, for eyes and beating-stick were both used to no success, and no Coleophora 



