1889. 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 179 



in Scotland. It has a very extended range both on the Continents of 

 Europe and America. It has been recorded from Corsica by Herr 

 Mann, " Tineina of Southern Europe," p. 120 ; and also from Oregon 

 by Lord Walsingham, " Entomologist's Monthly Magazine," Vol. 

 XVIII., p. 73. 



Pterophorid^:. 



This sub-family comprises almost all our British " Plume" moths, 

 and the species are at present divided among eleven genera, viz : — 

 Agdistis, Cncemidophorus, Platyptilia, Amblyptilia, Oxyptilus, Mimmscoptilus, 

 CEdematop horns, Pterophorus, Leioptilus, Pselnophorus, and Aciptilia. Two 

 species appear to me to be much misplaced in the genera in which 

 they ordinarily appear, viz : phaodactylus in Mimceseoptilus and pallidum 

 in Aciptilia. All the British genera in Pterophoridce have the anterior 

 wings divided into two lobes, and the posterior wings into three 

 plumules, except Agdistis, in which genus the wings are undivided, 

 and it is worthy of notice that the American genus Scoptonoma 

 exhibits the same peculiarity. Stainton thus characterises the 

 group : " The essential character of the group is that the fore- wings 

 are slightly or deeply cleft, and that the hind-wings are split almost 

 in their entire length into three distinct feathers. The larvae have 16 

 legs and are rather hairy. They form no cocoon, but fastening them- 

 selves by the tail to a leaf or stem, they shed their larva-skins and 

 appear in the pupa state. Some of the pupae are nearly as hairy as 

 the larvse, others are quite naked " (Stainton's " Manual," Vol. II., 

 p. 439). These general characters hold good, although Agdistis has 

 undivided wings, and some of the species do make loose cocoons to 

 change into the pupal state. 



Agdistis, Hb. 



This is the genus Adactyla of Stainton's " Manual," which is char- 

 acterised " by the undivided wings." The cleft of the anterior wings 

 oi the Pterophoridce are wanting, but the point on the edge of the wing 

 where it should occur is without a fringe, the posterior wings are not 

 divided into plumules. It is a very restricted genus, and contains 

 but one British species, bennetii. Dr. Staudinger gives eight species 

 as inhabiting the European area, while the genus is apparently very 

 rare in North America, where is found the closely allied genus Scop- 

 tonoma which differs from Agdistis in having no naked fringeless space 

 where the cleft of the anterior wings normally occurs in the group. 



(To be continued.) 



