yQ [September, 



straw, and husks, and would not by choice eat Cladium thatch ; one 

 larva sent when nearly full-grown to Dr. Chapman made itself happy 

 on a diet of bread ; it seems too that it is needful the food should not 

 be too dry ; anything like mildew caused by damp would be injurious, 

 but unless there is a certain amount of moisture in the food, such as 

 w^ould generally exist in shady corners of stables and barns, the larvae 

 seem to be starved, and certainly decrease in size ; and though they 

 will bear starving to some extent, yet if the drought be continued, 

 they die. From the first they spin the rubbish together, making tubes 

 much in the same way as pmpmialis, and often making use of a straw, 

 bean-husk, or folded leaf of Cladium mariscus, as a private retreat ; 

 they seem, when supplied with plenty of materials, to make the sides 

 of their galleries of some considerable thickness, and sometimes two 

 or three larvae were found inhabiting the same gallery, which, however, 

 in such a case would be noticeably longer than one occupied by a 

 single tenant. 



The young larvae fed away at once, and their growth could be 

 noticed after a few days ; in less than three weeks they were 4 mm. 

 in length, and in four weeks more 7 mm. ; when disturbed they were 

 very active, jumping backwards, hiding again as soon as possible, and,, 

 showing great aversion to the light, and this, indeed, is the habit all 

 through with the larva ; the number of moults was not observed, but 

 one took place at about the age of two months, when the length wasi; 

 still about 7 mm. ; and in another month, November 17th, they had 

 not grown much, but a fortnight later again the largest was 9 mm..i| 

 and this still was the length of one examined after hibernation odj 

 March 4th, 1883 ; on March 26th one was turned out, which measure(ij 

 13 mm., but by May 1st most of them had not yet attained tha'i 

 length ; by the 2 1st the largest was 19 mm., while some were only 1(1 

 mm. long ; on July l7th the largest had become 21 mm., other 

 remaining still very small ; and the last examination made by Mil 

 Buckler, September 18th, found them in the same condition : mean 

 M hile, Mr. Fletcher had noticed that from the first some of the larvsF 

 which he was rearing, were bent on outstripping the rest, though thai 

 were all kept together, and received precisely the same treatment ; an 

 during the summer of 1883 he bred two moths, and probably woul 

 have bred more, had he not killed several of his largest larvae b 

 keeping their food too dry through the winter, when he supposed the 

 were hibernating ; but by far the largest number of his larvae live^" 

 over 1883, and hibernated a second time, as was the case with all thoi 

 in Mr. Buckler's care ; these last came into my possession, and c 



