62 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



the root first occupied has died and become more or less decayed, and 

 this point is sought for the pupal transformation ; quite often the 

 cell containing the chrysalis is formed among the fibrous rootlets. In no 

 case can any exit arrangement be made, and it goes hard with those 

 examples that have to reach daylight by passing through such a tangle. 

 To this condition it seems possible to attribute the preponderance of 

 rubbed specimens which are taken at light or other sources. 



It may be remarked that Hydrcecia pupse do not attempt to reach the 

 surface or outlet of their burrows by any process of wriggling when about 

 to give up their imago, a circumstance frequently noted among borers in 

 other families. So inqucesita must reach freedom as best it may, and 

 generally comes out the worse for wear ; the only perfect examples to 

 result from those bred were secured from those last to appear and which 

 had been taken from their natural quarters and were placed on the surface 

 of damp leaf-mould. So long had this species been sought in its larval 

 state, that the ease with which its whereabouts may be known and the 

 flagrant evidence it leaves behind as it first enters the plant make it seem 

 ludicrous that it could have been passed by for so long. One may drive 

 along a country road or even board a trolley car and yet note this species 

 by the wayside. This, however, only applies to a certain season, as later 

 there is nothing to guide one, while a search for the pupae would be time 

 wasted. About the first of June the young larvae (presumed to have 

 hibernated in their first stage) enter the frond stem and begin active 

 operations. In a few days the root is reached and henceforth remains 

 the only portion inhabited ; in fact, the delicate stem could not long 

 accommodate the enlarging insect. Here the list of casualties begins, as 

 that telltale secret of a hidden laiva which appears in the foliage of the 

 plant at this period is as conspicuous to the eyes of its parasitic foes as it 

 can be to human optics. So, a fearful percentage suffer from this source, 

 and many more attain a violent end. Onoclea, with true fernlike pro- 

 pensities, is fond of damp places, though less so than many others, and 

 often grows in depressions that are for a time inundated after heavy 

 rains or showers. If we then visit an infested locality which has a low 

 situation, the number of drowned individuals will quite appal us and our 

 hopes of a rich harvest will receive a serious jar. 



When first detected, the larva had certainly passed through at least 

 one moult, though it was noted almost as soon as work was begun. At 

 this period it is very delicate and slender, translucent except on the first 



