THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 195 



shedding the old skin of its body, which slowly retires 

 to the anal extremity, and is finally thrown off; the next 

 aim of the larva is to divest itself of the old covering of 

 its head, and in pursuance of such a desire it wriggles its 

 head from side to side until it has effectually removed the 

 incumbrance : in a few instances I have observed a larva 

 which, from some cause, was unable to throw off" the old 

 covering of its head, and when such an occurrence took 

 place I found that it was a matter of certain death to the 

 larva so unfortunately situated. Immediately after the moult 

 has taken place, the body is white, the head glassy or milk- 

 white, the mouth pale brown tipped with dull red, the dorsal 

 vessel being exceedingly indistinct ; for some four or five 

 days afterwards the head becomes light brown, and the dark 

 markings on its hind lobes reappear ; the mouth is dark 

 brown ; the body white, suff'used with a slight yellowish 

 tinge ; the dorsal vessel is then represented by two or three 

 little dusky-coloured spots : having arrived at this period of 

 their lives, the larvee, when they come in contact, bite one 

 another fiercely ; so that each larva now, for its own safety 

 and protection, constructs for itself a tubular-shaped cocoon 

 or run ; this is made of portions of its food : inside of this 

 abode it feeds in security : this tubular abode has an opening 

 at each end, so that in case of need the occupant is enabled 

 to quit itB domicile instantly on the approach of danger. I 

 have only observed two moultings, but consider there must 

 be a third, which has in all probability escaped my notice. 

 Whilst studyiag the habits and economy of this little 

 creature, I was exceedingly interested in watching the fre- 

 quent and strange manner in which the dorsal fluid changed 

 its colour and position ; sometimes it was observed as a con- 

 tinous, unbroken, thin or thick dark line ; at another time it 

 was represented as a chain of little dark dots running down 

 the whole length of the back ; then, again, it would change 

 its colour to a dull blood-red on the back of two or three of 

 the segments, the remaining segments betraying no outward 

 signs of its presence ; sometimes instead of a blood-red it 

 assumed either a dark brown or a dull greenish tint, while at 

 other times it betrayed its existence in the form of dark 

 sombre patches. The larva) appear to be so fond of living 

 near each other in communities, that some of those which 1 



