78 



THE ^OUNG 



NATUEALIST. 



extent a beginner would like. Woods " Index 

 Entomologicus " and Morriss' " British 

 Moths" contain figures of all the species 

 known then, but they are expensive works. 

 Wilkinson's " British Tortrices " (12/6) con- 

 tains good life histories, but figures of gen- 

 era only. The best book the beginner can 

 get is Stainton's "Manual" (10/6}, which 

 not only contains the Tortrices, but all the | 

 other British Lepidoptera. The few wood- 

 cuts, in many cases, will lead to the deter- 

 mination of a species. We shall always be 

 glad to name specimens sent to us for that 

 purpose. The different families are as 

 follows : — 



Family I. — Tortricid^, Gn. The mem- 

 bers of this family have ample fore-wings, 

 and fly during summer. The larvae feed in 

 rolled leaves. It contains eleven genera in 

 Britain, comprising over fifty species. The 

 Green Tortrix (viridana), common in oak 

 woods, may be taken as a sample ; 

 and the little orange Bergnianniana, found 

 about rose bushes, will represent another 

 section. Many of the species are yellowish 

 brown, with oblique darker markings. The 

 species of the genus Peronia are very incon- 

 stant, some varying very greatly. 



Family II. — Penthinid.?;, Gn. The larvae 

 of this family are mostly feeding during 

 May and June, and the moths are on the 

 wing during the latter month and July. In 

 habits they resemble the last. Most of the 

 species are black and white or yellowish. 

 A. cynosbana, so common about hawthorn 

 hedges, is a sample. It contains three gen- 

 era and seventeen species. 



Family III. — Spilonotid^, Gn. A very 

 small family, the insects mostly being a 

 mixture of black and white, or brown and 

 white, but the wings are longer than in the 

 last two families. P. Tripunctana, which may 

 be known by its yellow palpi, is common in 

 gardens where roses grow. 



Family IV.-Sericorid^, Gn. This family 

 is not of large extent in Britain. One of the 



commonest species is A. udmanniana. The 

 larva may be found rolled up in the leaves 

 at the end of bramble stems during April 

 and May. The moth may be known by its 

 having a large chocolate patch near the 

 anal angle of the fore wing. 



Family V. — Sciaphilid.^;, Gn. A small 

 family of insects of different arrangements 

 I of grey, some of them very common, and 

 the larvae not being at all particular in their 

 choice of food. 



Family VI. — Grapholithid^, Gn. This 

 is by far the largest family of the group, 

 containing over twenty genera. In the 

 genus Anchylopera two species may be found 

 common on moors— Myrtillana and Ltmdana 

 — which are very much alike, having pointed 

 wings and a chocolate patch at the base of 

 the inner margin. In the genus Halonota 

 one species {Brimnichiana) may be found in 

 early spring in the larva state at the bottom 

 of the stem of coltsfoot flowers. The genus 

 Retinia are pretty insects, red being the 

 prevailing tint. The larvae feed in the shoots 

 of young fir-trees. 



Family VII. — Pyraloid^, Gn. Of very 

 small extent, comprising only four or five 

 British species. 



Family VIII.— CocHYLiD^, Gn. Of mod- 

 erate extent. Some are very sombre in 

 colour, others very gay, yellow being the 

 prevailing tint among the bright colours. 

 Some of the larvae feed upon flower heads, 

 while others penetrate the roots and stems 

 of plants. X. zoegana is perhaps the most 

 beautiful species, but is rare. 



Family IX. — Aphelid^e, Gn. A family 

 of only two genera, each containing a single 

 species. One (Pratana) flies during July 

 and August, and the other {Hyemana) in 

 early spring. Both are very inconspicuous 

 species. 



We hope these brief notes may be suffi- 

 cient to induce some to study this group of 

 Micros, and at some future time we may 

 give a description of the species. 



