1885.] 20e3 



Description of the larva of Argyresthia Goedartella, ivith notes on the larva of 

 A. BrocTceella and another catkin feeder. — On the 2nd of February last, a fine 

 sunny afternoon for the time of year, while strolling across a Norfolk fen, and 

 seeking anything entomological on which I could lay my hands, I turned ray eyes to 

 the pendulous catkins of the birch, thinking, as I had several times before thought, 

 that there ought to be something feeding in them, when I saw a larva hanging by 

 its silken thread from a birch twig, and slowly lowering itself to the ground. That 

 larva did not reach the ground, a box intercepted its descent, and soon after it found 

 itself in a glass bottle with some sand in the bottom. It acquiesced in the condition 

 of affairs, and the same evening began forming in the sand a white silken cocoon 

 attached to the side of the bottle. To interrupt the course of my narrative, I may 

 say that at the beginning of June that larva produced a fine specimen of A. BrocTceella. 

 Having thus discovered " when to look," and " what to look for," and having ascer- 

 tained from Mr. Barrett that little was known of the catkin feeders, I returned to 

 the search, about a week after I had found the first larva. Half-an-hour passed 

 without my finding anything, and I was beginning to think that my surmise of the 

 creature being a catkin feeder was wrong, when I saw a catkin which had lost its 

 end, thus exposing a hole in the remaining portion, and in the hole I could see a 

 larva move. This gave me the hint where to look, and I quickly gathered several 

 catkins which had lost their ends, or had the end smaller than the rest of the catkin. 

 On examining these at home, there was scarcely one but was or had been tenanted 

 by a larva. Only a few of the larvse were full-fed, and several of these I killed in 

 attempting to see them. These were like the one I had first found, and I put some 

 aside to write a description from by daylight, but before I had an opportunity of 

 doing so, half had begun to spin up. The smaller larvse, which were more abundant, 

 I assumed to be the same in a less advanced condition, but my supposition wag 

 wrong. The next convenient opportunity I had, I visited some alders, and on 

 examining the male catkins of these, I found them containing a handsome pink 

 larva, in some instances then full grown, and which iiltimately produced A. Goedar- 

 tella. I also examined the nut catkins, and found they contained rather plentifully 

 a small green larva, with the head and 2nd segment black. (These, I regret to say, 

 I have hitherto been unable to rear.) At the middle of February, when first found 

 it, it was not more than a quarter of an inch in length. Bj^ about the second week 

 in March, the small larvee in the birch catkins were so fully grown, that I could see 

 they were the same as those in the alder, that is Goedartella. Throughout March I 

 may safely say that I found this larva on every birch and alder that I examined : it 

 really appeared most abundant. Towards the end of this month, the green larva 

 ■which I had found in the nut catkins showed itself abundantly in the glasses in 

 which I had put the alder catkins gathered for the larva of A. Goedartella. This 

 green larva, however, grew very slowly, and by the middle of April was scarcely 

 larger than when I first found it. As the nut and alder catkins had by this time 

 almost passed flowering, and the larva did not appear to care for the catkins, when 

 grown so much that the anthers had separated, and there was, therefore, not sufii- 

 cient substance to conceal itself,! imagined it must have another course on its menu. 

 On examining the unopened buds of the alder, I found my suspicion to be correct, 

 for the larva, now nearly full-grown, was clearing out the buds, and leaving empty 

 the unopened sheaths of the bud, which afforded it a hiding place until it moved to 



