10 



THE ENTOMOLOGIST S RECORD. 



the alternate extension of successive segments allowing the cavities to 

 open more or less, affording a fleeting view of the circlets of hooks. 

 The general body-colour is a dull, thick, smooth white. The head is 

 of a light brown colour, with slightly darker jaws, the cheeks with the 

 darkest spot. The intersegmental space between the head and the 1st 

 thoracic segment is conspicuously lighter that the general body-colour, 

 enhanced no doubt by the darker head and prothoracic plate. There is 

 a large light brown plate on the 1st thoracic segment with a suture in 

 the middle, tapering at the front and wider behind. This plate is of a 

 somewhat lighter brown than the head, and the colour thins out 

 gradually and irregularly to the margins of the plate, especially at the 

 outer corners of the back part of the plate. The 2nd thoracic segment has 

 four small plates, arranged in the segment of a circle, with the concavity 

 forward. The interspaces are equal and of a fair width, and the colour 

 of the plates still somewhat lighter than that of the plate on the 

 preceding segment. The sutures are directed obliquely outwards and 

 backwards. The 3rd thoracic segment has the markings of the 2nd 

 exactly reproduced, but they are very faint in colour, indeed, only a 

 shade or two darker than the general ground colour. The spiracular 

 spots are about equal in size and of a faint colour. The anal plate 

 is brown and darker at the margins. The tips of the thoracic legs are 

 brown, and between them, on the body of the larva and the basal 

 portions of the legs, are a few scattered brown markings of irregular 

 shape. 



Very rarely have I met with cases on the white flowers, but, on October 

 2nd, 1904, on the railway-bank at Hayes, I found, on some very late 

 flower-heads, about a dozen and a half of larvae, the cases of which were 

 all soft and clean, with the anal ends weakly constructed and indefinite 

 in shape. The suggestion arises that these may have been the offspring 

 of a summer or early brood, at any rate, it was extremely late to find the 

 larvae in that early stage. I have frequently searched, but in vain, in order 

 to find the larva? before they commence their cases. A few larvae were 

 found still feeding, on October 23rd, at Sevenoaks. A larva was, on one 

 occasion, taken from its case to confirm a previous examination, and 

 when not required was placed on a seed-head without its case. It 

 soon started to burrow in the seed-vessel, and in twenty-four hours had 

 not only hidden itself, but had successfully manufactured a flimsy new 

 silken covering. 



In November, the larvae were all placed out-of-doors, in flower-pots 

 covered with muslin, and, when examined in early spring, had not moved. 

 Every few weeks afterwards they were looked at, and later on more 

 frequently, but none moved. Of a few kept all the winter in a glass- 

 topped tin box, only one moved, in May, and settled on the glass. On 

 June 8th, 1905, some of the cases of the larvae kept out-of-doors were 

 opened, and the larva' were found to be still unchanged, but not 

 shrivelled, although very white. The usual position for the hyberna- 

 ting larvae is on the small stems of the yarrow-heads just below the 

 florets, very seldom was a case noted on the sides of any of my pots. 

 The imagines began to emerge in numbers quite at the end of July, 

 and continued to do so daily during the first two weeks of August. 

 Unfortunately, this was exactly coincident with my holidays, and only 

 a few were retained. 



In 1905, this species was again extremely abundant at Fobbing, on 



