The name, however, has been reluctantly rejected by entomologists, because the name of Botys, given to these Moths by Latreille, has the priority, and entomologists are obliged to be

LYII

Stenopteryx hybridalis. a. Botys, priority as are officers of seniority. It does not I as jealous of who invents a name, or how appropriate or the con- a matter trary— it may be. That name which is first published has the | and that name will be accepted ever afterwards. I priority, There is only one chance of deposing an old and inappropriate i name in favour of a newer and better, namely, to prove that | been anticipated in some branch of the old name has clearly can be shown beyond contra- ' zoology. If such anticipation

}, diction, the older name is by common consent abandoned, and Ml the next in seniority takes its place. There are, of course, (I some disadvantages in this system, but they are enormously overi thought would be that no fixed he could nomenclature improve upon of insects, a name and would every do one so, who and H borne by its advantages, for, without some such system, there

^ the result would be an inextricable confusion, which every I year would augment. i In the genus Botys, the body is larger than the wings, and

both pairs are marked in a similar manner.

The colour of this pretty little Moth is pearly-wliite, on

which are a number of dark markings arranged as shown 'in the

illustration on Woodcut LVII. Fig. 2. The popular name of

i this insect is the Mother oe Pearl, and its scientific name is ■ Botys urticalis.

Although the general character of these marks is the same

in all species, there is some variation in different specimens,

both in their arrangement and depth of tint. In colour they

are nearly black, but if viewed by a side light, a purplish

metallic gloss is seen upon them, being best defined along the

costal margin of the upper wings. Both surfaces are colomed

in much the same manner, but on the under surface the marks 1 are not so dark, and the purple gloss is more conspicuous,

especially on the lower wings. When closed, the wings assume

a heart-like shape, and usually look very round, as if a flat

plate of thin mother of pearl had been cut into the shape of a ; heart, and carefully painted with dark spots. The thorax is , bright golden-yellow, the abdomen is black, each segment being ! edged with yellow, and there is a tuft of yellow hairs at the end ^ of the tail. [ The caterpillar is one of the numerous nettle-feeders. It is * thicker in the middle than at the ends, and so thin-skinned p that it has a semi-transparent appearance when viewed against & the light. Its colour is whitish-grey on the back, relieved by

a central black line, and the sides are green. This larva is ( shown at Fig. a on Woodcut LVII. It draws together the

leaves of the nettle with silken threads, and so feeds in conceal- I' ment. There are ten species of this pretty genus. ’ On Woodcut LVII. Fig. 3, is seen the Moth which is po- ■ pularly called the Lesser Pearl {Spilodes oinctalis).

By the older entomological writers this insect was comprised ..J in the same genns with the preceding insect. It has now, however, been placed in a different genus, and that for two reasons. The first lies in the shape of the wings, which are | to the genus Botys ; and the second is the appearance of the r. much deeper in proportion than those of the insects belonging

wings, which do not possess the delicate, pearly translucency which is so characteristic of these Moths, but are quite opaque, their opacity being due to a very dense layer of white scales on the under surface. f

The general character of the markings can be seen by reference to the illustration. The darker portions are, however, of various degrees of depth, and the light portions are glossy cream-white, sometimes taking a yellow tinge. The generic name Spilodes is taken from the Grreek, and signifies anything iat that is spotted. The specific name, cinctalis, or banded, alludes to the manner in which the spots are arranged, so as to form almost continuous bands.

The caterpillar of this insect is seen at Fig. b.

Another pretty insect, belonging to the same genus, is the f- Diamond Spot {Spilodes sticticalis). ; ik!

This little Moth is brown, the upper wings being mucli darker than the lower, and having a conspicuous spot of pure white near the tip. It is a rare Moth, but has been taken in many parts of England, always appearing about September. The ^ caterpillar is shaped like that of the preceding species, and is® green, having along its back a dark line edged with yellow, and some streaks of the same colour at the sides. It feeds on

the field-southernwood {AHemisia campest'i'is) or the mugwort , | {Artemisia vulgaris').

We now come to the last gToup of the Pyralides. These insects have been termed Plicatse, or folded, because when the insect is at rest the wings are folded closely against tlie body.

One example of this group will serve our purpose, namelj, {Stenoptengx hybridalis). There is only the Bust Veneer genus of these insects, and the name of Stenopte)'yx !!

one British

‘ Shortwing ’ has been given to it, not so much because the

or short, as because the abdomen is ex

wings are exceptionally

ceptionally long, making the mngs look short in proportion. This insect is drawn on Woodcut LVII. Fig. 4.

The upper wings of this species are rather narrow, and their colour is brown, with some rather large spots of a deeper brown. The lower wings are plain grey-brown. When the insect is in repose, the upper wings overlap each other, the end of the abdomen just appearing beyond them. The male is distinguished by having his antennae feathered, while those of the fem-ale are plain and thread-like. Although this is a very common Moth, I can find no mention of the larva, and do not myself know it.

The next group of Moths which comes before us is called Cbambites, this name being apparently derived from a Greek word signifying a kind of caterpillar. Whether or not this is the case I cannot say, but the word has long been accepted by entomologists. The reader will notice that all Moths which belong to this group have their specific names ending in ‘ellus’ or ‘ ella,’ according to the gender of the generic name.

We will begin with an example of the typical genus, namely, the Peael-streak Veneer {Cramhus hamellus). It is draAvn on Woodcut LVIII. Fig. 2. In all the insects belonging to this genus, the labial palpi are very long, and at first sight look very much like a beak, or short proboscis. The upper wings are long, narrow, and convoluted in repose, and the antennae are thread-like.

This beautiful little Moth is rather gaily coloured. Tlie gi-ound hue of its upper wings is rich dark brown, and parallel with the costal margin and just below it is drawn a narrow streak of pearly white, from which its popular name is derived. The hind margins of the wings are yellpw, that colour being separated from the brown by a dark, wavy bar. Tlie lower wings are much lighter in colour than the upper pair, and not nearly so handsome, their colour being pale grey-brown, with an edging of yellow like that of the upper pair.

It is not a very common Moth, but c*an be taken in open places in woods by beating the bushes. It makes its appearance in the very midst of summer. K K

On Woodcut LVIII. Fig. 3, is shown an example of the family Chilida3 — a word which by rights ought to he spelt as Cheilidse. It is derived from a Greek word signifying a beak or snoutj and is given to these insects because the labial palpi j are very long, as long in fact as the head and thorax together, i and project from the head like a beak. This great development^ of the palpi is well shown in the illustration, those organs being so long as almost to look like a second pair of antennae. The upper wings of these Moths are lancet-shaped, long, and comparatively narrow.

The present species is called the Wainscot Venebu {Chilo and is one of the largest, if not the veiy 'pliTCbginjitellus')') largest of the family. Its colour is nearly uniform pale yellow a slight streak or dash of a darker hue just below dun, with margin of the upper wings. Both pairs of wings are the costal colour. The male may be known from the nearly of the same slightly feathered and the wings female by having the antennae longer, narrower, and more sharply pointed. is coloured much like the perfect insect, but

The caterpillar of the yellow about it, except on the head has not so much are orange brown. It feeds on the and following segment, which whence its specific name common reed {Arundo p/iraf/miies)— only in places where that plant grows, of r>hragmitellu8—aud the coot and the reed-bunting and where in consequence or the perfect insect be abound, can either the caterpillar reed is plentiful in its own ch^en taken. Although the as to tte place of its growt localities, it is very particular lands, or in waters which are very Mostly it grows on marshy to the air in hot and dry shallow and occasionally exposed Mere is one of the places where e summers. Whittlesea and I should fancy that the Veneer can be taken; Wainscot be a likely place foi it, as great reservoir at Swindon would forming semi-islands in grows there in large patches, the reed islands look very easy of approach,

iralittle distance these appear as if anyone could just and the coots’ nests in them penetrate the stronghold of in and take them; but to step it looks, for the tall, sturdy

coot is not always so easy as the strong enough to prevent.^ reed-stems form a natural stockade, them, but not strong from forcing his way through human being

enough to bear his weight. Even if a boat be rowed hard at

one of these semi-islands, it often fails to penetrate it, the

reeds partly yielding to the impetus, and then recoiling and

driving the boat back with no small violence. Such places as

this are the localities loved by the Wainscot Veneer, and any

one who wishes to obtain it should visit them in June and

July for the perfect insect, and in May for the full-fed caterpillar.

Lviii

Galleria cerella. 2. Crambns hamellns. 3. Chilo phragmitellus. 4. Tortrix

costana. 5. Tortrix sorbiana. a. Galleria, larva. 6. Do., palpus of female.

c. Do., palpns of male.

There are a tolerable number of Moths called by the popular I name of Veneers, the largest of which is the Gtigantic Veneer

{Schoenobius gigantellus). An exceptionally fine specimen of 1; this insect will measure almost two inches across the spread J wings. In colour this insect very much resembles the Wainscot I Veneer, but there is a decided difference in the coloiu- of the 4 sexes. The male has both pairs of wings bright yellow-brown, ra and the upper pair slightly spotted ; whereas those of the 1 K K 2 j

female are pale brown without the spots, and the under wings are nearly white.

Like the preceding insect, this Moth is rare except in places where the reed abounds. The somewhat odd-looking name Schoenobius alludes to this fact, and is derived from two Greek words signifying something that lives among reeds. Several other of the Veneers belong to the genus Crambus, which has already been mentioned.

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