THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 151 



Now, all young lepidopterous larvae spin threads, and in falling guard 

 themselves by this means, but I certainly never saw or knew of this habit 

 in an adult butterfly larva. Adult or middle-sized Lycaenid larvae double 

 up and fall on least provocation, but use no cord. Here would seem to 

 be a means of defence in a larva always liable to sudden attacks. 



Miss Morton calls my attention to the fact that ants do not disturb the 

 larvae of the Syrphus flies, which with either woolly larvae, or naked 

 species, as on cherry, devour far more aphides than do the Tarquins. 

 "One would suppose. the ants would at least expostulate in some way at 

 the wholesale destruction going on, but though I have watched until the 

 aphides were nearly devoured, the ants did nothing but pet their cows." 

 Perhaps the wise ants have learned to submit to the inevitable. 



I watched these larvae at every stage to see in what degree the legs 

 and feet were retractile, and they certainly are not at all in the earlier 

 stages, that is, up to second moult. Nor in the remaining stages any 

 more than is the case with a Papilio larva. Mrs. Peart, who from drawing 

 figures of feet and legs of many species and genera of butterflies, is 

 accustomed to notice such points, writes me : " Through all the stages they 

 seem to be the same as in Papilio larvae, but the fleshy legs are very 

 short." I found a mature larva of Lye. Pseicdargiolus and placed it on 

 glass slide by side of a mature Tarquin, and the difference in the appear- 

 ance of and the handhng of the legs and feet, was decided. If at the 

 last stage Tarquin may be held to iiave the pro-legs at all retractile, as 

 that word is used in describing onisciform larvae, it is but imperfectly, and 

 not after the manner of the Lycaenidae. 



I should have said before that on looking at a stem of alder, which 

 may be completely covered by the aphides, there will appear inequalities 

 on surface, little hillocks as it were ; and on pulling these apart, small 

 larvae of Tarquinius will probably be found, in their webs. None at all 

 will be visible, unless they are nearly mature. 



Miss Morton writes, 23rd Sept. : " Tarqum gets itself stuck over with 

 the wool of the aphides, and the Chrysopa larva, running over the Tar- 

 qiims as well as the aphides, pulls the wool off the former also. I have 

 watched, but never saw one of these formidable creatures bite or annoy a 

 Tarqum. When the Tarquins moult, they come out bright and clean, but 

 by the time they crawl their own length, they are again stuck over with 

 wool, and this is the case till pupation. They are naturally so exactly the 



