304 fi-:ei)IX(; habits of a lad^iurd lakna. 



side, and then sliufHed off in search of another victim. Durinc^ 

 the final stages of the meal, only sufficient fluid was injected to 

 fill the lower part of the 1)ody of the a])his. which still appeared 

 to contain some pickings. 



From the first ai)pearance of the green in the leg of the 

 aphis to the final act I counted hft\' regurgitations, and the whole 

 process, from start to finish ( i.e.. from the seizing of the leg to 

 the discarding of the em])ty skin), lasted an hour and three 

 minutes. The time taken varies, of course, with the relative 

 sizes of larva and a])his. A small aphis will be emptied by r* 

 fair-sized larva in from fifteen to twenty minutes. 



Though the legs are the usual point of attack — probably 

 because they are the extrenfities with which the larva generally 

 first comes in contact — 1 have on several occasions seen a lar\a 

 fasten on to an antenna ; and, incredible as it may ajjpear, one 

 aphis v.as thus completely drained, the larva attaching itself to 

 the base of the third segment of the antenna and never shifting 

 its grip. 



A short while agf) 1 was fortunate enough ti) witness an 

 extraordinary i)erformance on the part of a larva 1 had in cap- 

 tivity. I ha|)pened to he examining it through a pocket magnifier, 

 and noticed it had seized a winged aphis. It had attached itself 

 to the leg of the insect. I was at once interested, as it ha- 

 always appeared to me that the legs of the winged H])his are 

 more brittle and somewhat harder than those of the wingles> 

 specimens; and I was curious to see whether the result> of ihc 

 larva's operations w(ndd confirm this view. After an inefiectual 

 attempt to ])enetrate the leg, the larva, apparently dissatisfied 

 with the i)osition, moved round to the head of the aphis, and 

 failing to establish a satisfactory connection here, it shuftled olY 

 to seek a more convenient ooint of attack. I'resentlx its head 

 came into contact with the left fore wing, the costal margin 

 of which it immediately seized. Shortly after 1 observetl a dro|' 

 of dark li(|uid protruding beyond its head and then disapi)earing. 

 In a few seconds a larger drop appeared and disappeared, and 

 the ))rocess wa> re])eated a considerable nunibei" of times, the 

 amount ol li(nn(l— which was ot a dark green colour--iticreasing 

 each successive time until it c(<\ered upwards of half of the wing 

 to (|uite a considerable depth. The larva was evidenth under 

 the imi)ression that it had at k'lst succeeded in gaining access to 

 the juices of its ])rey ; lud wlien it had performed the ])roper 

 number of regurgitation- and withdrawals it went off in search 

 of another \ictim. 



Notwithstanding tiie fact that this larva went through all 

 the usual ])roce(hn-e in comiection with its barmecide feast, there 

 seems little doubt, from its beha\iour when devouring small and 

 large aphides, that the insect is able, as a general rule, to judge 

 when the juices of its victim are exhausted; for. so long as the 

 amount w ithdrawn exceeds that injected, it w ill not let go. except. 



