Page:The Zoologist, 1st series, vol 1 (1843).djvu/226

198 replaced by a very faint false nervure. Posterior wings sub-trigonate, tailed, anal angle produced into a tooth; costal nervure wanting; sub-costal slightly curving outwards, terminating in the tail, emitting one nervule to the anterior margin, just before the outer angle, another to the outer margin a little before the tail; median nervure slightly curved, terminating in the tail, emitting a nervule to the anal angle; between these two nervures is a false nervure or fold, which runs directly along the middle of the wing from the base to the tail, where it appears to unite with the median nervure. Tibiæ (apparently) all simple. Abdomen short, clothed with long hair.

''Th. Zaida.'' Anterior wings diaphanous, nervures, costae, outer margin and cilia fuscous, disk and inner margin orange: posterior wings orange, with a large black spot at the anal and outer angles: tails black, tipped with white: cilia of the wings orange, of the tail black nearly to the apex: head, thorax, feet and abdomen orange: antennae black.

Inhabits Northern India. In the collection of the British Museum. This beautiful insect is nearly allied to Himantopterus fuscinervis, Wesmael, of which a wood-cut is here given.

Himaniopterus fuscinervis.

The neuration of the wings is very peculiar, especially that of the posterior; and I am by no means certain that in these I have given the right names to the nervures. The mouth, unfortunately, I cannot examine, both the specimens having been touched underneath with some substance, which entirely prelcudes any attempt at such examination. Its station in the system cannot be very far from the Lithosiidae. London, May, 1843.

Note on the capture of Odacantha melanura. One hundred and nineteen specimens of this beautiful insect were a few days ago brought to me alive from the fens, where, in certain localities, they appear to abound. The end of April or the beginning of May seems to be the finest season for collecting them, and the following method, if adopted, is almost certain of being attended with success. Burwell fen, and the marshes in the neighbourhood of Whittlesea mere, are by far the most prolific localities in the county, where this species frequents the large heaps of sedge, so well known to everybody who is acquainted with the like districts. If a large cloth be taken, and these heaps well shaken over it, each bundle separately, insects innumerable, of all descriptions, besides Odacantha melanura, may be taken. It would be useless to enu-