TENTHREDO. TENTHREDO, 
Generic Character. 
Os maxillis absque” probo- 
scide. 
Al^e plaiise, tumidse. 
Aculeus laminis duabus ser- 
fatis, vix prominentibus. 
Scutellum granis duobus im- 
positis' distantibus. 
Mouth with jaws, without 
proboscis. 
Wings flat, swelled or slight- 
ly inflated. 
Piercer consisting of two 
serrated and scarcely pro- 
jecting laminae. 
Scutellum Avith two distant 
granules. 
TThE Larvae of the genus Tenthredo aire re- 
markable for their great resemblance to those of 
the order Lepidoptera or real caterpillars, from 
which however they may in general be readily 
distinguished by their more numerous feet, which * 
are never fewer than sixteen, exclusive of the 
three first or thoracic pairs. When disturbed or 
handled they usually roll themselves into a flat' 
spiral. They feed, like the caterpillars of the 
Lepidoptera, on the leaves of plants, and undergo 
their chrysalis state in a strong gummy case or 
envelopement, prepared in autumn, out of which 
in the ensuing spring emerges the complete insect. 
The Tenthredines form a numerous gdnus, and 
may be divided into tribes or sections according 
Y. VI. p. ir. 18 
