Family Micropterygidae Fig 8-Right Wings of Menmonica Subpurpurella Homoneura

FIG. 8.-RIGHT WINGS OF MENMONICA SUBPURPURELLA (HOMONEURA, FAMILY MICROPTERYGIDAE) to large-sized archaic moths (fig. 1o), found in most parts of the world. Their caterpillars (fig. 35) are borers and often tunnel in the solid wood of trees; some require more than a year to com plete their transformations. The leopard moth (Zeuzera pyrina) is common to Europe and North America and this species, along with the goat moth (Cossus cossus), are well known in Great Britain.

Basal cell in both pairs of wings divided by vein M and its branch radial cell usually absent. Antennae clubbed and not pectinated.

The single family Castniidae includes a small number of bright ly coloured day-flying moths bearing a general resemblance to certain butterflies. They are confined to tropical America, Indo Malaysia and Australia ; their larvae, so far as known, feed in the stems of plants or at the roots of grasses.

Small moths with vein M absent or little developed in the basal cell; wings often very narrow with long fringes and degraded venation or with vein Rs in the hind wings not approximated to Sc+R, beyond the cell.

Included in the Tineoidea are an immense number of which are variously classified into numerous families by different authorities, and the characters upon which these groups are based are often slight and difficult to determine. It is only possible in these columns to mention briefly certain of the more important groups. The Tineidae (fig. 12) are an extensive family with the venation well developed in many species and much degraded in others. The cosmopolitan clothes moths (Tinea), whose larvae construct portable cases in which they live, are well known; in Lyonetia and Lithocolletis the larvae are leaf-miners, while those of Adela and Nematois live in flattened cases composed of leaf fragments. The moths of the two latter genera fly by day, and in their larvae are leaf-feeders and the best known species is the widely-spread diamond-back moth (Plutella maculipennis). The Hyponomeutidae include, among others, the small ermine moths (Hyponomeuta), whose larvae live gregariously in dense webs, and the moths have white fore wings dotted with black. The

Sesiidae or Aegeriidae comprise the clearwing moths which are characterized by the absence of scales over the greater part of the wings (fig. 13) ; many bear a remarkable resemblance to wasps, bees, or ichneumon flies and are often brightly coloured insects, flying in sunshine. Their larvae are stem or wood borers and one of the best known species is the currant borer (Trochilium tipuli forme). The two large families Oecophori dae (fig. 15) and Xylorictidae attain their maximum development in Australia ; the last mentioned family is almost confined to that region and includes some of the largest of the Tineidae. The Gelechiidae are an extensive and widely distributed family distinguished by the sinuous or emarginate outer border of the hind wings which have vein Sc+R, connected with, or approximated to, the basal cell. Their larvae mostly live among leaves, shoots, etc., and sev eral are major pests, one of the most important being the pink boll worm (Pectinophera gossypiella) of the cotton plant. The Elach istidae are often divided into several families and have extremely narrow wings. One of the best known genera is Coleophora, whose larvae are at first leaf-miners and subsequently live in portable cases. The Tortrices are often regarded as a distinct superfamily and are characterized by the terminal joint of the labial palpi, being short and obtuse. They include five families, the Eucosmi doe being one of the most important ; this family is recognized by the presence of a fringe of long hairs on the margin of the cell in the hind wings and includes the codling moth (Cydia porno nella), the oriental peach moth (Laspeyresia molesta) and many others. The Tortricidae lack the hair-fringe or pecten to the hind wings : their larvae are leaf-rollers and the genus Tortrix is world-wide.