NOTES, CAPTURES, ETC. 139 



perfect insect, it is ceitain that no other form would be so fit 

 an antecedent; and every time the larva changes its skin it 

 gains something in its internal structure that it had not 

 before, — a gradual merging of the worm into the winged 

 insect. This might be seen well by those who care to see 

 Cossus ligniperda dissected at different stages of its growth : 

 when full fed, in the autumn, the wings are to be seen more 

 than an inch in length, and wonderfully developed. One 

 would expect to find this if the larvae were dug up in the 

 spring, as it passes so short a time in the pupa state ; whilst 

 in its first year I suppose there would be no trace of wings. 

 True that Stauropus fayi started with jointed legs, but we 

 may suppose that they too gain something in resemblance to 

 the legs of the future moth, in common with the other parts 

 which are undergoing a gradual modification, preparing 

 them for their perfect condition. It seems that in losing the 

 legs Fagi would lose a feature of resemblance to the perfect 

 insect, which it would seem consistent for it to retain, I 

 repeat this is but theory, and perhaps not worth thinking 

 over; yet in this time of the year, when the parliament of 

 insects is not sitting, one or other of our masters in 

 Entomology might feel inclined to give a little information 

 to those who, like myself, are still groping after truth, and 

 sometimes blundering. I was mistaken in saying that the 

 first pair of legs was simple : on closer examination with a 

 lens I find that they, too, are jointed, though not prolonged. 

 In all three pairs the tibia ends in a socket, into which fits 

 obliquely a small foot, just as a leaf-bud fits into the swollen 

 extremity of the twig. In the short pair there seems to be a 

 further protuberance, like a solitary toe ; but I cannot speak 

 positively, as the larva I was examining to-day was dry and 

 shrivelled — one that died as soon as it had drawn together 

 two leaves with a few silken bars. To the naked eye the legs 

 are smooth, but seen under a lens they are covered with 

 small tubercles, from each of which starts a short hair; the 

 roughness is just appreciable to the touch. Two of the legs 

 broke off" as 1 was handling the dried larva, and it was 

 curious to observe how the setting of the legs, quite as much 

 as their length, justifies the English name of lobster moth: 

 the construction of the under part of the thorax, which can 

 only be conveniently seen in a dead specimen, is wonderfully 



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