50 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March, 



covered with a bit of mosquito netting- and supplied with food 

 and building materials, he lived and throve during the rest of my 

 stay there. His food-plant was oak, but I have found this species 

 upon so many different trees, shrubs and herbs, that it may be 

 considered omnivorous. He ate freely and worked busily at the 

 construction of his home. He was not particular as to the sort 

 of building material, using bits of dried leaves, small twigs or 

 leaf petioles indiscriminately. When I left Punta Gorda I carried 

 the larva and case with me, going to Ormond and other parts of 

 Florida. Early in April I returned to New York. The larva 

 was then full grown and its case apparently finished. I could 

 procure no oak leaves at that early season, so tried various other 

 things, house plants of different kinds, and the dried leaves found 

 in boxes of pressed figs. Of all these the larva ate sparingly, 

 but enough to keep him alive and well. About the middle of 

 May I went to Franconia, N. H., and of course took my case 

 bearer along. He had, some days before I left home, suspended 

 his basket from the mosquito netting at top of tumbler and been 

 perfectly quiescent since. The journey by train and carriage did 

 not disturb him, nor did he show any sign of life for several weeks 

 after arriving in the mountains, I thought him dead or trans- 

 formed, but made no examination. Under these conditions I 

 ceased to cater for him, and he was entirely without access to food 

 for some weeks. One day in June I took off the netting which 

 covered the glass and forget to replace it. When I returned an 

 hour later and took up the piece of netting the basket had dis- 

 appeared. Every one in the house was questioned, but no in- 

 formation obtained, and I finally gave my Oikcticus up as lost. 

 That evening my eye was suddenly caught by a dark spot on the 

 white window curtain and there was my basket fastened neatly 

 by a strong silken cord, and hanging quietly. From that time 

 the life of Oiketiais was a series of surprises, and the unexpected 

 was always happening. For weeks he would remain utterly 

 motionless within his hanging case, then he would crawl down 

 to some dried leaves at bottom of the glass, bite off, one after 

 another, large semi-circular pieces and fasten them irregularly to 

 his basket Only at long intervals did he ever eat a particle as 

 far as I could see, though constantly supplied with fresh food. 

 In this \\ay he spent the whole Summer. He traveled with me 

 from place to place, was on the summit of Mt. Washington for 



