THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 187 



shaking of the leaf, all the heads wagged together. This would be a 

 natural protection against ichneumon flies, etc. I have observed the same 

 simultaneous wagging in young larvas of M. Phaeton, as an ichneumon 

 fly was hovering over them. This habit my larvae kept up through the 

 second stage. The first moult was passed while they were all piled 

 together. The habit in feeding during the second and third stages was as 

 in the first, no web, no shelter, all in bunches. But after third moult part 

 of the larvre protected themselves in the manner of Grapta Comma, eat- 

 ing off the main ribs at the base of a leaf on under side, whereby the 

 leaf drooped. The edges were drawn together pretty closely and nearly 

 to tip, and several larv^ might be found therein. One small lot of larvge 

 were on upper side of a leaf at the base, and had drawn the edges 

 together for a half inch from base, making an imperfect shelter, but the 

 ribs were not cut and the leaf stood in natural position. 



At fourth moult I liad a fresh plant ready and the larvae were trans- 

 ferred. They scattered about, bent and closed leaves as in previous 

 stage, and in some of these were three and four individuals, in others but 

 one. But sometimes the leaf was not bent, and was closed from end to 

 end nearly, a single larva lying therein. 



The weather was clear while I was feeding this brood, and at no time 

 was there any spinning of a web, or spinning at all beyond what was 

 necessary to close the leaves. From what I saw, I should say that the 

 larvK in the early stages were highly gregarious, that after third moult 

 they were much less so, and after fourth (and last) had lost most of that 

 habit. But had the weather been cloudy, or stormy, they might have 

 acted differently, and protected themselves more or less by a web. 



I asked Mr. Gilbert to observe what he could of Milberti in natural 

 state. He wrote 15th July : "The eggs, so far as I have observed, are 

 always eight or ten inches below the top of the nettle, and usually in 

 cluster on under side j but on one occasion I found them loosely scattered 

 over the upper side, covering nearly half the leaf. In rough, windy or 

 showery weather, the young larvae may spin a web on under side of the 

 natal leaf I have seen this twice, and it seemed to me only a temporary 

 expedient to avoid the rain and to secure a safe foothold. But they gen- 

 erally go to the top of the plant and spin a web which covers the terminal 

 leaves, and by additions come to extend for three to five inches down. 

 My opinion is that if the weather be rough when the larvae are hatched, 

 they rest on the natal leaf; if fair, ascend. When very young there are 



