176 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



Pimpinella is about a line larger, expanding eight lines or rather more. It 

 is a fuscous coloured moth, inclining to reddish towards the costal margin, 

 with a number of short dark streaks on the fore-wings, two of which are con- 

 spicuous. All these moths have moderately long reflexed labial palpi. The 

 second joint is brushlike underneath, and the terminal one slender. They 

 have very flat abdomens, whence their name " flat-bodies." In some respects 

 they greatly resemble the tortrices, and their larvae are also very similar, but 

 unlike the little caterpillars of the tortricina they are hatched from the egg 

 in the spring or early summer, and produce moths in the latter part of sum- 

 mer. The moths generally hybernate and may often be seen in early spring. 

 They seem to be very fond of getting in thatch, whence they may be readily 

 beaten. Assimilella unlike the other Lepres&dria larvae is hatched from the 

 egg in the autumn and hybernates very small. In early spring it may be 

 found as a little brown caterpillar with a black head, feeding between united 

 broom twigs. 



The genus Gracilaria furnishes us with several species this month. The 

 moths belonging to this genus and to the family of which it is a type, are 

 very easy to recognise from the habit they have of sitting with their heads 

 raised when in repose. Both the antenme and the maxillary palpi are rather 

 long, the former being as long as the fore-wings. The palpi are slender, and 

 the labial palpi have the terminal joint pointed. The fore-wings are elongate 

 and possessed of long fringes, the hind- wings are lanceolate in shape. The 

 genus is divisable into two great groups, viz. large species and small species. 

 To the former belong the willow haunting Stigmatella, which we may find in 

 September, both as larva and imago, and also the autumn species, stramineella, 

 hemidactylella, falconipennella, semifasciella, populetella, and elongella. 

 All these exceed five lines in expanse. Stigmatella is a reddish brown moth, 

 with whitish yellow triangular marks on the costal margin. It is produced 

 from a greenish white larva, with a yellowish brown head, living in a cone on 

 willow or poplar. It hybernates in November, and is fond of getting in stacks 

 or thatch. It reappears in the latter end of March or beginning of April. 

 We find it in the Cambridgeshire fens, but it is not very plentiful. It has a 

 wide range and occurs, I believe, in every part of England. Slramineella is a 

 northern species, in colour it is very pale yellow with reddish brown dots. 

 Hemidactylella and falconipennella I have never taken, and the latter species 

 is I believe but seldom met with. Semifasciella is a moth which varies to 

 some extent in colour. Some specimens are reddish brown, or nearly so, 

 others have reddish-brown mottlings on a pale yellow ground colour. In all 

 I have seen, there is pale yellow streak extending from the costa obliquely, 

 anterior to the middle, and reaching as far as the fold, while the costal margin 



