498 INSECTS AT HOjVIE. 



On "Woodcut LVIII. Fig. 3, is shown an example of tlie 

 family Chilidse — a word which hy rights ought to be spelt 

 as Cheilidae. It is derived from a Greek word signifying a beak 

 or snout, and is given to these insects because the labial j^alpi 

 are very long, as long in fact as the head and thorax together. 

 and project from the head like a beak. This great development 

 of the palpi is well shown in the illustration, those organs 

 being so long as almost to look like a second pair of antennae. 

 The upper wings of these Moths are lancet-shaped, long, and 

 comparatively narrow. 



The present species is called the Wainscot Veneer {Ghilo 

 phragmitellus), and is one of the largest, if not the very 

 largest of the family. Its colour is nearly uniform pale yellow 

 dun, with a slight streak or dash of a darker hue just below 

 the costal margin of the upper wings. Both pairs of wings are 

 nearly of the same colour. The male may be known from the 

 female by having the antennae slightly feathered and the wings 

 longer, narrower, and more sharply pointed. 



The caterpillar is coloured much like the perfect insect, but 

 has not so much of the yellow about it, except on the head 

 and following segment, which are orange brown. It feeds on the 

 common reed {Arundo phragmites) — whence its specific name 

 of phragmitellus — and only in places where that plant grows, 

 and where in consequence the coot and the reed-bunting 

 abound, can either the caterpillar or the perfect insect be 

 taken. Although the reed is plentiful in its own chosen 

 localities, it is very particular as to the place of its growth. 

 Mostly it grows on marshy lands, or in waters which are very 

 shallow and occasionally exposed to the air in hot and dry 

 summers. Whittlesea Mere is one of the places where the 

 Wainscot Veneer can be taken ; and I should fancy that the 

 great reservoir at Swindon would be a likely place for it, as 

 the reed grows there in large patches, forming semi-islands in 

 the water. 



At a little distance these islands look very easy of approach, 

 and the coots' nests in them appear as if anyone could just 

 step in and take them ; but to penetrate the stronghold of 

 the coot is not always so easy as it looks, for the tall, sturdy 

 reed-stems form a natural stockade, strong enough to prevent a 

 human being from forcing his way through them, but not strong 



