Is 



AmeriqAna 



VOL. II. 



BROOKLYN, AUGUST, 1886. 



NO. 5. 



Larva of Aphorista Vittata, Fair. 



By John B. Smith. 



Early in November 1885, Mr. E. A Schwarz and myself while col- 

 lecting in Virginia found under a decaying log a number of larvae feeding 

 upon a mould fungus. Close search revealed a few very fresh specimens 

 of Aphorista (Mycetina) vittata, and as the larva agreed closely with that 

 of Epipocus discoidalis in Dr. Riley's collection which Mr. Schwarz had 

 collected in Texas, it was assumed that the larva was that of A, vittata — a 

 supposition which was verified by afterward obtaining the pupa, though 

 none were found at this time. 



Larva of all sizes were found, the largest — mature as it proved — a- 

 bout 8 mm. in length, and, as they appealed with retracted head and 

 somewhat curled, about half as broad as long. They were of a dirty 

 blackish brown color above, dirt}- yellowish white beneath, flattened 

 though yet rather stout, and furnished at the sides of abdomen with a 

 double row of lateral appendages, the upper dorsal, but at the extreme 

 side of the segment: the lower ventral: the stigmata are situated between 

 these appendages. The thoracic segments have only one of these lateral 

 appendages, as has also the anal segment. The form of these append- 

 ages and their proportion and situation are well enough shown by the ac- 

 companying figure, and require no detailed description. The head is 

 small, retracted, and usually not visible from above, in the living insect. 

 The antenna,' are short with a small thick socket joint, a very short 2nd 

 joint, a long, cylindrical, somewhat tapering terminal joint, which is fur- 

 nished with a few scattered hairs, and has at tip a small tubercle, making 

 really a fourth joint. Ocelli, three on each side; one before, and two 



