14 [.hiiie, 



they fed and grew slowly until hibernation, which portion of their existence extended 

 over a long period, as they ceased feeding in the autumn, and did not re-commence 

 until early in May following. By the middle of June, they were full-grown, and may 

 be described as follows : — Length about three-quarters of an inch, and of average 

 bulk in proportion ; head about the same width as the second segment ; it has the 

 face rather flat, but the lobes rounded, and is notched on the crown. When viewed 

 from above, the body seems flat, but seen from the side, the under surface is rounded ; 

 the 9th segment is the widest, and from it the rest gradually taper towards the head ; 

 the 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th, are of about equal width : all these overlap consider- 

 ably, thus rendering the divisions very distinct ; this overlapping, too, makes the 

 skin at the side appear as a conspicuous lateral ridge. The skin is tough, and has a 

 rough appearance, owing to its being transversely ribbed throughout. 



The ground colour is dirty ochreous, in some specimens strongly suffused with 

 a dingy smoke colour ; the head is of the same colour, and from it extends a pale 

 dorsal liue, this line being bordered, on each side of the 10th to 13th segments, with 

 an irregidar, broad, and very dark, stripe ; on segments 2 to 5 these stripes are paler 

 and narrower, whilst on segments 6, 7, 8, and 9, they become conspicuous black 

 X-like marks ; the side of the lateral ridges is tinged with reddish-ochreous, and 

 there are various brown freckles between this and the dorsal line. The ventral surface 

 is of the same tint as the ground of the dorsal surface, and is freckled with brown. 



The larvse began to spin loose cocoons, in the corners at the bottom of the cage, 

 on the 2l8t June. The pupa is about three-eighths of an inch long, smooth and 

 shining ; the colour reddish-yellow, with the wing-cases greenish. 



The first imago appeared on the 15th July, and was speedily followed by the 

 remainder. — Geo. T. Poeritt, Huddersfield : May 2>rd, 1876. 



Natural History of Cramhus tristellus. — On the 28th August, 1874, Mr. W. 

 Eobinson-Douglas kindly sent me a small batch of eggs of tliis species loose in a 

 quill, which were the more welcome from the fact of my having obtained a batch 

 the year before, but with no satisfactory result beyond learning sometliing of the 

 voracity of the larvse, for whilst young they entirely killed a large pot of grass before 

 the following spring, and when I looked for them had all escaped in quest of fresh 

 pastui'o. 



In order to pi'cvent a similar failure, I this time provided several large pots of 

 Aira jlexuosa and ccBspitosa, among which the ncAvly-hatched larvte were disti-ibutcd 

 on the 12th, 13th, and 14th September, and, beyond a little attention to the grass by 

 occasional watering, they were not disturbed until April, 1875, when I began to search 

 the remains of the grasses for the larvce. Amongst the A. ccespitosa none could be 

 found, only a number of quite small empty galleries, which had been abandoned at 

 an early period, with but little damage to this grass, a proof of its unsuitability. 

 Two pots of A. Jlexuosa had been so ravaged as to be destroyed, the lower parts of 

 the dead grass had a number of sOken cases or galleries, both little and big, spun 

 amongst it and covered with frass, but no larva remained, and although several 

 vigorous plants of Luzula multiflora were by chance still growing amidst the dead 

 A. Jlexuosa, they had not kept the larva) from wandering away, nor had they been 

 eaten at all. 



