THE PLUME-MOTHS OF CEYLON. 153 



" For the purpose of pupating, the larvae forsake th< portions of 

 the plant enclosing them and prepare for themselves on the upper 

 surface of the ground an oval cocoon, which is usually covered with 

 grains of earth or sand, or is composed solely of a wide-meshed web, 



"On emergence the empty pupa case remains behind in the 

 cocoon 



" The moths fly voluntarily only towards evening, shortly before 

 and after sunset . around their food plants. In repose the hindwings 

 are spread out as in flight, but the segments of the forewings, which 

 cover the first two segments of the hindwings, are so approximated 

 to one another that they occupy only about half the breadth usual 

 in flight, whereby their pattern appears very distinct. The fore part 

 of the body is raised up a little, the palpi are stretched out horizon- 

 tally and project widely ; the recurved terminal joint is erected at 

 an acute angle. The antennal flagellum forms with the basal joint, 

 which lies on the fare part of the eye, an obtuse angle and rests under 

 the wing." 



Ovum. 



The egg of 0. hexadactyla is described by Chapman (Trans. Ent. 

 Soc, London, 1896, p. 138) as about -48 mm. long and -28 mm. 

 wide, somewhat cylindrical and truncate, or like a short thick brick 

 with the angles and corners rounded off ; the surface is sculptured 

 with irregular raised lines and pits. In colour it is at first white, 

 then yellow, and finally orange. It is laid on the flower heads of 

 honeysuckle. 



Larva. 



Hofmann ("Iris," vol. XL, pp. 339-341) gives the following 

 general description of the larva? of the European species of 

 Orneodes : — - 



"' The larva? present nothing very characteristic, and seem very 

 similar to many Tineid and Tortricid larvae : they are sometimes 

 short and thick, sometimes more elongated, usually tapering ante- 

 riorly or anteriorly and posteriorly, more or less convex dorsally, 

 with a very small head ; the interstices between the segments are well 

 marked, less so in the short thick larva?, more so in the elongated 

 ones, but are always fairly distinct ; an indented transverse line 

 behind their middle shows that the segments are made up of two 

 subsegments ; above the spiracles runs longitudinally a linear mark, 

 below the spiracles a longitudinal swelling (lateral ledge). The skin 

 is covered with fine, pointed, scattered spicules, which arise from 

 globular chitinous appendages. (Only visible under a magnification 

 of about 350.) 



" The warts are mostly very small, inconspicuous, single-haired ; 

 their position on abdominal segments 1-8 is the same as in the 

 Tineids. I. stands on the back of the anterior, II. on that of the 

 posterior subsegment, III. again on the anterior over the spiracle, 



z 6(8)10 



