10 LIFE STORIES OF AUSTRALIAN INSECTS. 



species of saw-flies have many prolegs. Wood 

 boring grubs of beetles are practically legless. 



(c) A Maggot (Plate 2, Fig. 4 a) is a legless 

 grub, and the most specialised maggot is that of 

 the flies, such as house flies and blow flies. 



Pupa (Plate 2, Fig. 4 b). — After a series of 

 moults the larva pupates, i.e., it changes from a 

 larva to a pupa. The pupa never feeds and is 

 usually quiescent, though some pupae are vfery 

 active, for example, the mosquito. The larva on 

 pupating usually shrinks and is covered with a 

 general enveloping membrane or pupal skin. This 

 may be a covering like a sac or bag ; ex. : butterflies ; 

 or may follow the outline of the appendages, head, 

 etc., and both form what is termed a naked pupa : 

 for example, some species of ants (Plate 2, Fig. 4 

 b), and beetles (Plate 28, Fig. 3 b). In other cases 

 as before mentioned, there is a general enveloping 

 skin enclosing the pupa, example, pupae of butter- 

 flies and moths; in the moth, the pupa is further 

 protected with a silken bag called a cocoon (Plate 

 39, Fig. 4), while in some cases moth-larvae pupate 

 in the ground. In many flies, the last larval skin 

 is used as a kind of protecting skin, and is called a 

 puparium, example, the house and blow flies (Plate 

 44, Fig. 3 and Fig. 8): it is seed-like in these 

 species. The pupal case is usually split along 

 the back and the imago or perfect insect emerges. 



The larvae which form cocoons, in most 

 cases cut their way through the silk from one 

 end; in the Cup Moth the pupating larva forms a 

 lid and this is pushed off on emerging. This is the 

 case also with some wasps (Plate 16, Fig. 4 a). 



