Pattiscus'] IJKrilSII U'lIN ICl'MONS. 301 



<,u\\\.s J\iiiisciis i(/>/iii/n/tS v\\\v\\\v(\ liciiu j)ni,iiiiii\i liiiii/ti, loj^rlluT uilli 

 a bundle of five of llie formt-r's cocoons. 



Its life lnstor\- is one of the best known and most I'asily observed 

 among Ichneiimonidae. K. W. Andrews (Kntom. 18S2, p. 103, cf. p. 239) 

 found a few little black and shining objects* hidden between the rolls of 

 skin behind the head of J), viniila larvae (and I too have frequently seen 

 such); these were firmly embedded in the body, oidy half of each being 

 visible, like an i^<^^^ in the egg-cup. This was on i+lh June, and about a 

 fortnight later one hatched, and the rest soon followed. The ensuing 

 larvae were fat, apodous, greenish-white and semilransparent, attached 

 by both extremities to their hosts and swaying about at every movement. 

 The parasites remained external. Most of the caterpillars were too 

 weakened by suction to pupate, but one survived sufficiently to spin its 

 cocoon towards the end of August. The perfected parasites emerged 

 (apparently simultaneously) on igth May. Schmiedeknecht says the 

 \oung maggots bore into the host's body ; he infers that in the case of 

 the smaller hosts the parasitism is solitary. 



On August i-i-th, iQoo, Wigin sent from Methley in Vorks three cocoons 

 of D. vinula to me. The first was stout and fully constructed ; it con- 

 tained (like Albin's) five jet-black, hairy, leathery cylindrical cocoons (as 

 figured in Insect Arch. 326), spun upon each other longitudinally and 

 upon the walls of the host-cocoon loosely by strands ; one black cocoon 

 I opened and found a larva in every respect resembling that described 

 below, thougli somewhat larger ; this I replaced and these with their — 

 ? own — cast skins and that of the empty host-larva, all at one ex- 

 tremity, occupied the wh(.)le cocoon. From it emerged four males and 

 one female between the 3rd and 6th June, 1901 ; one male being out 

 by 10 a.m, and a second emerging between i and 4 p.m. The second 

 cocoon was a thin and fragile one, as though the caterpillar had had but 

 little vitality for its construction ; it contained nine cocoons woven upon 

 each other of a sordid white, very unlike the first lot in colour, the 

 lower being even paler than the upper ones ; these, on account of their 

 number, were smaller than those of the first lot and much thinner in 

 texture, though similar in shape. They contained larvae like the first 

 ones though with less dull markings, probably on account of less de- 

 velopment. From this cocoon emerged four males and two females 

 between 2nd and 4th June, 1901; one male and two females being out 

 by 10 a.m. on 3rd, and another male between i and 4 p.m. the same day. 

 Of the remaining three specimens, two died as larvae and one failed to 

 emerge, though a fully-formed imago. The third cocoon was also some- 

 what fragile, containing a dead and rather shrivelled, though still soil, 

 host-caterpillar with three live and active larvae of the parasite still feed- 

 ing upon it, one of which is described below and may be considered lully 

 fed. One of these larvae had beconu- a dirty grey-green slate-colour on 

 19th, and all subsequently died. 



The larva (see fig.) is i«mm. in length when crawling, and 10 mm. at 

 rest; 5 nun. in breadth at its broadest part ; with a distinctly discreled, 

 explanate, lleshy lateral border, containing no visible spiracles. It is 

 entirely pale, primrose-white, and diaphanous ; a great number of lighter 



* These ei^ns appear to have been mistaken for pupae on Dicraniira furcula (E.M.M. xx, p. 227) 

 and for small beetles (linloni. xi, p. 251) ; they arc well figured at lib. cit. 1884, pi. ii, fig. 19 and in iitu, 

 lit;. 16. 



