THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



brown hair on either side near the thorax, and the last segment of 

 the abdomen is covered with similar material ; otherwise the 

 insect is naked. The anterior segments are slightly chitinized, 

 and each is nearly fused to the succeeding part, rendering their 

 separation rather difficult. A small quantity of very fine brown 

 hair will be found inside the pupal skin, surrounding the moth 

 and extending downwards to the lower end of the case. 



The male lives only a day or two, the female, particularly if 

 unmated, perhaps three weeks, the operation of laying its eggs 

 occupying several days. By the time this is fully accomplished 

 the insect is so reduced in size and presents such a shrivelled 

 appearance as to be with difficulty recognizable. Having removed 

 a moth from the pupal skin in order to observe the oviposition, I 

 found that, although nearly half of the total number of eggs had 

 been already deposited, the body was still fully distended — half 

 by the remaining ova, the rest by, presumably, air. The skin 

 being thus kept semi-rigid permits the full action of the abdominal 

 muscles in what is practically an empty bladder. In some instances, 

 though not in all, the moth after death drops out of the case about 

 ten days after mating. 



The best time for securing these insects is in the early morning 

 in October, though odd specimens continue to appear to the end 

 of December. These late arrivals are generally males, while the 

 early November batch contains as many females as males, 

 contrary to the general rule that early specimens are more 

 frequently of the male sex. To obtain perfect specimens the 

 males must be secured early in the morning ; they will then be 

 found hanging on to their cases, while the females are only partly 

 visible, the head and thorax protruding from the lower ends 

 of their cases, in which position they may remain for a few 

 hours. 



An account of the life-history of any insect ought to include 

 some mention of the length of its life, but their nomadic habits 

 make it a matter of uncertainty with some of the case-builders. 

 It seems that this species takes two or three years to come 

 to maturity, the stages being as follows : — The eggs are laid in 

 October, and hatch before the end of the year ; the larvae are half- 

 grown by the following October, and some prepare to pupate in 

 May, emerging as moths next October, two years after the 

 deposition of the ova. Thus, in the month of October there can 

 be found ova, half-grown larvoe in small cases showing evident 

 sign of much recent enlargement, and the perfect insects. But, in 

 addition to these, there may be found also in October adult 

 larvae of both sexes in full-sized cases, much weatherbeaten, and 

 showing no sign of having been recently added to. This would 

 point to a three years' life for at any rate some specimens, the 

 larva living as such for about two years. 



