492 LORD WAIiSINGHAM ON THE [NoV. 17, 3. On the Micro-Lepidoptera of tlie West Indies, By the Rt. Hon. Lord Walsingham, M.A., LL.D., E.E.S.,&c. [EeceiYed November 17, 1891.] (Plate XLI.) This paper is founded upon a collection of Micro-Lepidoptera made by Herbert H. Smith in the Island of St. Vincent, and placed in my hands by Mr. P. DuCane Godmau. In order to identify the species it was necessary to study carefully all the descriptions of West-Indian forms which might probably be found among them. It is possible that some may yet have been overlooked, as they are scattered through a mass of periodical pubhcations in at least three languages. Having so far made myself acquainted with the literature of the subject, it seemed desirable to supply such information as would facilitate a study of the geographical distribution, and with this view a tabulated index to all the "West-Indian species is included in the paper. It has not been attempted to define or to follow any already defined faunistic West-Indian region ; the term is used simply in its geographical sense, and includes the whole range of islands stretching from Yucatan to the coast of Venezuela. It would be interesting in this connection to obtain a representative collection from the peninsula of Florida and the adjacent islands, approaching, as they do, so nearly to the northern coast of Cuba, especially as the few^ species I have seen from that locality are remarkable, not only for their beauty and distinctness, but also for their evident alliance with the genera, and almost with the species, which have reached us from the mouth of the Amazons and from the northern portion of Brazil. It will be seen that, so far as our present knowledge extends, the Micro-Lepi-doptera of these islands are somewhst highly specialized. Several new genera are described and others are mentioned which have not as yet been recognized elsewhere ; but it must not be presumed that these wall not ultimately be found to have a wider distribution. Had we been dealing with the Rhopalocera, or with any of the larger and more conspicuous Heterocera, a tabulated Index would have shown more nearly the true limitation of range in the different species ; for these have been carefully collected and studied, and individual species are far less likely to have been overlooked than those of obscure and much neglected groups such as the To7-tricidce, Tineidee. and Ptero-phoridcE. With the exception of three more or less cosmopolitan species, one of which, Trichoptilus centetes, Meyrick, seems out of place here (probably only because it has been described under other names from different parts of the world), the whole of the known West-Indian forms are decidedly American, ranging northward to the Southern and Western portions of the United States, and south-ward as far at least as Brazil ; the majority, however, certainly belong to the truly Central-American fauna. I must acknowledge my indebtedness to Dr. Staudinger for allowing me to see several of
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