122 THE entomologist's record. 



liberated larvre spun an incredible amount of silk for such tiny 

 creatures. It is amazing bow tbey can draw on tbeir system to such an 

 extent, for these larvae were quite unfed. On batching, tbey immediately 

 begin to bite off scraps of paper, wood, or anything by which they find 

 themselves surrounded, and, commencing with a necklace, gradually 

 manufacture a case which, at last,extends beyond the abdomen and covers 

 in the whole of the body (Fig. 4 h, e, d, e, /). When this process is 

 complete they look like Fig. 3 //, which represents them at this early 

 stage of development. 



It fortunately happened that just at the time I was making 

 these observations I received from Professor J. B. Smith, the 

 Fu'port of the Entoiiuilniiical Dcpartvunt of the Xeir Jerseij Ai/iindtural 

 Colhye E.rj). Station for 1894, in which there is a full description of a 

 species called the " Bagworm " [Thjiridoptenj.r epheiiieraefoniiis'J, which 

 does immense damage to shade, orchard and other trees in the United 

 States, and the case of the full-fed larva and pupa (Fig. 3 e, /') was 

 so like those received from Mr. Anderson that I had little doubt that 

 it belonged to the same or to a closely allied species. 



It is really remarkable how light these large cases are, yet the full- 

 fed larva (Fig. 3 a) must have considerable strength to carry the case 

 on its back. When full-fed the N. American larvffi show great dis- 

 parity in size, and the pupa of the male (Fig. 3 b) is much smaller than 

 that of the female (Fig. 3 <). The male is a small Psychid-looking 

 moth (Fig. 3 d), but the female (Fig. 1 a) is a wingless whitish grub 

 which does not leave its case. It is shown greatly enlarged in Fig. 1 /;. 



I am not at all clear yet as to how copulation takes place. Professor 

 Smith writes : " She (the female) pushes her way partly out of the 

 pupa, her head reaching to the lower end of the bag, where, without 

 leaving the same, she awaits the male. The male has the tip of the 

 abdomen remarkably modified to enable him to copulate with the 

 female in this position, though when at rest no trace of the extra- 

 ordinary development of these structures is manifest. Fertilisation 

 being accomplished, the female works her way back Avithin the pupa 

 skin and fills it with eggs, receding as she does so towards the lower 

 end of the bag, where, having completed the work of oviposition, she 

 forces, with a last efibrt, her shrunken body through the opening, 

 drops exhausted to the ground and perishes. When the female has 

 withdrawn, the slit at the end of the puparium and the elastic opening 

 of the bag close again, and the eggs thus remain securely protected 

 till they are ready to hatch the ensuing spring." 



The first paragraph of this quotation is exceedingly ambiguous, and 

 leaves much to be desired as regards the ratioiude of the actual 

 method of copulation. The structure of the male genitalia 

 (Fig. 26 — i) shows, indeed, a marvellous development and capacity to 

 reach for some distance within the puparium. The female is 

 shown (Fig. 1 ay in the act of working her way to the end of the 

 puparium, where she evidently awaits the male. The larvjB of the 

 Argentine species hatch in the autumn, but do not seem to come 

 out of the puparium until disturbed. One puparium that I opened in 

 August was full of young larva), which became active on disturbance, 

 but the undisturbed cases gave no sign of life. Similarly, on Sept. 

 3rd, 12th, and Oct. 2nd, cases wore opened with the same result ; but 

 one that I have opened this morning (Oct. IGth), previously un- 



