86 THE REPORT OF THE No. 19 



The species of Hymenoptera, Hemiptera and Diptera have not yet been 

 determined, the first named number 24 species, the second 25 species, in- 

 cluding 20 of Leaf-hoppers and the last (Diptera) 27 species. 



SPINNING METHODS OF TELEA POLYPHEMUS. 



By J. W. Cockle, Kaslo, B. C. 



After the publication of my letter on the above subject in the Cana- 

 dian Entomologist of April last, I received several letters from corres- 

 pondents bearing upon this subject, and in re-opening the discussion and 

 adducing such data as I have been able to procure, I would touch upon 

 reasons ascribed for the peculiarity displayed by the larvae of this species 

 in its different habitat. 



In an article published by Mr. Wm. T. Davis, Journal of N. Y. Ento- 

 mological Society, March, 1897, he gives as his reason for the suspension of 

 the cocoon that it affords a protection from the attack of woodpeckers, and 

 cites instances where he has found the contents of the pupa had been ex- 

 tracted through an opening made by these birds, and he thinks that the 

 fact of allowing the cocoon to swing on the end of a twig affords great 

 protection against attack from this source. 



Another of my correspondents, Mr, E. M. Webster, also takes the same 

 grounds as an explanation of this fact; to both of these querists I would 

 suggest the consideration of the fact that larvae of various sorts must, accord- 

 ing to natural law, have been pre-existent to the woodpecker, and, whilst 

 agreeing with them, that there are some grounds for their - argument, I 

 would seek a broader cause for the reason of suspension. The footnote of 

 the Editor of Canadian Entomologist, in April, "that he had never seen 

 a cocoon suspended as described and figured by the late Dr. Grote," con- 

 firms the observation of many eastern entomologists, and bears out the 

 rule that dominates the habits of these larvae in the east. 



In order to have some practical demonstration of the habit of these 

 larvae I raised a small brood, and after they had passed the last moult they 

 were liberated, without any restraint or protection, amongst a patch of 

 brush, comprising a small birch (their food plant), a willow, and a Coeano- 

 thus with a good undergrowth of grasses and small evergreen shrubs. 



28 larvae were turned down, and in about four days they commenced to 

 spin, occasional visits a few days apart for a further period of ten days 

 found some of them still feeding, at the expiration of three weeks a search 

 resulted in the discovery of twenty cocoons, the balance may be accounted 

 for in having strayed off or being destroyed by birds ; those recovered gave 

 the following results : 



Exhibit A. 3 cocoons. Found in grass under the food tree, encased 

 in dried leaves, with the cocoon firmly attached to the ends of the grass 

 stems which were bent and fastened with a lot of silk forming an arch, 

 which would effectually keep the cocoon suspended off the ground when 

 located under the protection of the overhanging boughs and brush. It 

 will be noticed that some of the silk bands run down the grass stems for 

 several inches. 



Exhibit B. 14 cocoons. Firmly attached to the branch by a silken 

 thong which is spun from the inside of the leaf along the leafstem, and 

 thence extended completely round and along the branch. 



