138 PEAR. 



year 1896 ; and with regard to prevalence of this insect, 

 Mr. Cameron only says : " Probably common in gardens in 

 England. I have not found it in Scotland." With regard to 

 plants infested, he mentions that the " larva lives on Pear, 

 Plum, and Cherry trees, also on the Whitethorn (JMespilus) 

 and other rosaceous shrubs, feeding with many others under 

 the shelter of a common web in June and Jul3^"* 



On June 25th (1896) an excellent specimen of a web-nest 

 of this species of Lyda with its tenants was sent me from 

 Hextable, with the observation: — "As you see, it is on a Pear 

 shoot. I found a batch on the same row of trees last year, 

 and this season only one. Last season's batch were older, 

 and of a bright orange colour ; they would not feed in confine- 

 ment, but lived about three months without appearing to 

 feed, and then gradually shrank to very small dimensions. 

 I have not found this insect on any other tree in the 

 locality."— (C.B.) 



The caterpillars sent proved, both in appearance and habits, 

 to agree excellently with the description of the kind which is 

 still perhaps most frequently known by its old name of Lyda 

 pyri, or the Social Pear Sawliy. They were as yet (as noted 

 by the sender) not full grown, being hardly half an inch long, 

 the length attained at full growth being three-quarters or 

 nearly an inch. The colour of the caterpillars reddish or 

 reddish orange ; they are very smooth and shining, and 

 somewhat cylindrical. The head very shining black, with a 

 pair of pointed antennae, ringed black with a little white ; 

 rings apparently about seven,! but difiicult to count with 

 certainty. On the segment behind the head were some small 

 black markings. The three pairs of claw-feet were of the 

 orange colour of the body, and there were no ventral or 

 sucker-feet ; but on each side of the terminal segment was a 

 pale antenna-like process (see figure of larva, p. 137), each 

 about as long as the space across the top of the segment 

 between the lowest joints of this pair of horn-like processes, 

 which pointed slightly backwards. There was some variety 

 in colour in the caterpillars, according to whether they had 

 been lately feeding ; in this case the devoured matter from 

 the Pear leaves gave a greenish tint through the transparent 

 skin. My specimens were obviously only about half-grown ; 

 but (as noted by Prof. Westwood I) this kind does not, like 

 many sawfly larvae, change colour at different ages, but young 

 and old are similarly coloured. 



* See 'British Phytophagous Hymenoptera,' vol. iii. p. 97. 

 t Mr. Cameron says, " with long seven- to eight-jointed anteunte " (' British 

 Phytophagous Hymenoptera,' vol. i. p. 53). 



I See ' Gardeners' Chronicle ' for 1851, No. for January 18th, p. 36. 



