THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 155 



pillars be touched, they stretch forth the reddish-brown fleshy fork from 

 the neck, like all those of the genus Papilio. When they do not eat they 

 are sitting rigid regularly on the surface of the leaves. It is most inter- 

 esting that in this situation their appearance resembles very much the 

 excrements of birds, on account of their color, consisting of white, gray 

 and brown spots. This resemblance is considerably increased in the 

 earlier stage of the larvae, which are particularly found on open places, 

 and are thus very easily seen. 



I saw these larvae for the first time in the early stage, and they deluded 

 me in such a manner that I thought them at first to be excrements of 

 birds fallen upon the leaves, and after further examination recognized 

 them as larvae. This resemblance protects them naturally against their 

 enemies, especially the birds. This likeness of the larvae to excrements 

 of birds may seem strange to some readers, but the means and the ways 

 of nature, whereby many insects are protected against the assaults of their 

 enemies, are very numerous and wonderful. 



The pupae of the fail brood sometimes develop in autumn when the 

 weather is favorable, but generally not before April of the next year. As 

 a rare occurrence, it should be mentioned that one pupa of the fall brood 

 of 1875 was not hatched before April, .'877. This observation is very 

 peculiar in this southern latitude, and so far as I know, has never been 

 noticed in butterflies. Among Bombycidae this happens occasionally, and 

 it occurred to me in the old country that pupae of the European Saturnia 

 carpini hybernated twice before they were developed. 



ON MERMIS, A PARASITE OF THE LARVA OF CARPOCAPSA 



POMONELLA. 



BY DR. H. HAGEN, CAMBRIDGE, MASS. 



The interesting paper by Mr. J. A. Lintner, Entom. Contributions, 

 No. iv., induces me to give some extracts from the papers by Prof, von 

 Siebold, which the author could not compare himself, the more as they 

 answer some important questions. 



