HESPERID.E. 285 



segments are the usual two suow-white patches, which are 

 said to be of a waxy nature, and the use or function of 

 which is totally unknown ; anal segment with a flat shield 

 narrowly edged with yellow ; the extremities both protected 

 by a roughness of minute black-tipped granulations, and a 

 few fine hairs. Professor Zeller says : "The larvte are very 

 easily detected by the irregularly gnawed edges of the leaves 

 of hard grasses betraying their presence, and they are found 

 resting ou the rolled up portion of the leaves above or 

 beneath the erosion. The rolling up of the grass-leaf is 

 effected by means of white silken cross-cords, attached here 

 and there, often leaving the cylinder open longitudinally, 

 and allowing the larva to be seen, resting, stretched out at 

 full length. A cylinder mostly contains one larva, rarely 

 two. It happened that the two first young larvaj that I 

 found on the 3rd of May of this year inhabited a single roll. 

 The more they grow the less complete they make their 

 cylinder, and in the middle of June, when they are mostly 

 full-grown, they often repose on the flat surface of a leaf", 

 overspun with silken threads, most frequently drawn across 

 here and there. The movements of the larva are very slow, 

 and its ventral legs being very short, it continually spins 

 threads in a zig-zag way to set its legs on. Sometimes it 

 walks along the edge of the leaf, and it then proceeds more 

 quickly. When brought home hungry it would creep up to 

 near the top of the leaf, and commence gnawing the edge of 

 it and biting it through, so that the pointed end of the leaf 

 must fall off". As I never saw it consume the fine end of the 

 leaf, I infer that it always bites it oS" whenever it begins 

 eating from the top downwards. When full-grown they 

 seek for a retired shelter, which they find in a corner, or 

 between some leaves, of which they form a spacious habita- 

 tion by spinning, in the open parts, a thin wall of whitish silk 

 web, with large and very irregular meshes ; the resting-place 

 being veiy thickly covered with whitish silk, but most thickly 

 where the tail of the larva is to rest." 



