NOTES ON THE COCOON-SPINNINCJ OF APANTELES GLOMERATUS. 261 



er<iane, Hb.-Gey., ab. niedirrld, Strand, n. ab. ; Pontia daplidice, Linn., 

 ab. anastoDiosica, Strand, u.ab. ; Colias cdiisa, Fab.,ab. niediecki, Strand, 

 n. ab. ; Satijrus briseis, Linn., ab. iiniocellata, Strand, n. ab.; (Tlaiicopfiyche 

 cijllarus, Rett., ab. siiblagens, Strand, n. ab. 



Li the Berlin Ent. ZeiU., liv., 1909, pp. 68-72, Parnassins apullo 

 var. silesianus, Marsch.; pp. 73-75, Lycaena areas, Rett., ab. g enuitata, 

 Marsch.; Proc. p. 3, Epinephele jurtina,lj.,&h. $ liertha, Heinrich ; 

 p. 36, Af/riades coridon, Poda, var. bornssia, Dadd ; p. 89, Parnassius 

 )iiuc)nos>p}c ab. taeniata, Stichel ; ab. arenaria, Stichel. 



In the Pnly.vena Wien, iv., 1902, p. 2, Tephmnia Krpiaria, Hufn., 

 ab. nir/ra, Rebel ; var. lepraria, Rebel. 



In the Entoiii. Rundschau, xxvi., 1909, p. 59, Lycaena cyanr vav. 

 tarhayata, Suschkin. 



Notes on the cocoon=spinning of Apanteles glomeratus. 



By GEORGE WHEELER, M.A., F.E.S. 

 As I had several larvae of Pier is brassicae just lately, the greater 

 part of which were ichneumoned, I had the opportunity of watching 

 through a lens the emergence from the bodies of the larvae and the 

 cocoon-making of a number of the parasites {Apanteles ylomeratun). 

 When I first looked into the box in the morning over twenty grubs had 

 emerged from the body of one caterpillar, 12 on one side, 8 on the 

 other in compact groups, and 2 separately near the head. The 

 most separated one began operations by making a pad on the bottom 

 of the box by means of small circular movements of the head, it then 

 began to double back on its own body, attaching the threads to it, each 

 movement forming a loop, only limited in length by the distance to 

 which the forepart of the body could stretch, this being the only part 

 moved, but the loops were longer or shorter according as more or 

 fewer segments were put in motion. These loops often caught in the 

 course of formation, and were fixed in passing, by their own stickiness, 

 to whatever they happened to touch, without cessation of movement on 

 the part of the grub. Those that were in groups fixed many of their 

 threads to the bodies of their companions. One of the larger group 

 was turned awaj' from the rest with its head towards the back of the 

 caterpillar, and kept moving its head backwards and forwards in the 

 most futile manner, being either unwilling or unable to fix a thread to 

 the back of the caterpillar, eventually it turned and found itself able 

 to attach its thread to the cocoons begun by others. The beginning 

 of the cocoons is a common pad, but after a time each grub begins to 

 work for itself so as to construct its own cocoon. They had all 

 emerged and were beginning their cocoons by 9 a.m., and by 11.30 

 they were mostly covered, but the futile one was far behind the others, 

 not more than two-thirds of its cocoon being formed. By this time a 

 second batch was emerging from the body of another larva ; each had 

 made a circular hole in the larva's skin for itself ; some emerged com- 

 pletely, but the greater number to about three-quarters of their length 

 only, using the hole as a fixed point from which to work their bodies. 

 Whilst I was writing a third larva had produced a batch of ichneumon 

 grubs, which, in the course of those few minutes, had made consider- 

 able progress in their spinning. Each of these two batches consisted 

 of 12 grubs. In the evening, at about 10.30, I happened to look in 

 the box again just as the first of another batch was protruding from 



