LIFE-HISTORY OF LIOTHULA OMNIVORA. 157 



and her old pupa-shell, which would seem to confirm the above 

 opinion. In colour the male is of a uniform blackish brown, 

 becoming darker on the body, and lighter near the middle of the 

 front wings, each of which has an obscure rusty brown spot near 

 its hind margin ; all are very sparsely covered with scales, the 

 posterior pair being semitransparent. The antennae are heavily 

 bipectinate at their bases, becoming quite simple at the tips. 

 The expansion of the wings is eight lines. 



The female has a great superficial resemblance to a large 

 maggot ; the head and thorax are very small, the legs being 

 extremely minute, and much resembling those of the larva in 

 structure ; they are of no use in walking, the insect being 

 incapable of locomotion, or indeed movement of any kind, 

 except a slight twirling of the ovipositor, which takes place 

 when the eggs are being laid. The antennae are in the form of 

 two minute papillae, apparently without articulations, projecting 

 from each side of the head. The abdomen is very large, and the 

 divisions are somewhat obscurely indicated ; at its extremity it 

 is furnished with a slender two-jointed ovipositor, the basal joint 

 being twice the width of the terminal one ; above this is situated 

 a thin tuft of straw-coloured scales, and there are also a few 

 scattered ones of the same colour on the anterior portion of the 

 insect and about the legs. Colour uniform dull yellow, the head 

 and prothorax slightly corneous and dark brown. Length ten 

 lines. This creature is of such a soft consistency that it 

 becomes quite flat when placed on a hard level surface, which 

 offers it no support. 



Of the habits of the imago in its natural state I am quite 

 ignorant, as all the specimens I have ever seen were reared in 

 captivity from cases containing either larvae or pupae ; and as its 

 discoverer, Mr.^ Fereday, of Christchurch, obtained all his 

 examples in the same way, it would appear to be very rarely 

 met with in the open. 



Notwithstanding the strong case that protects this insect 

 during its preparatory stages it is very susceptible to the attacks 

 of dipterous parasites ; in fact it is so frequently infested that I 

 am sure quite three out of four of all the cases I have opened 

 have contained dipterous pupae. The numbers found in each 

 individual vary considerably ; generally there are about six, but 

 as many as fourteen or fifteen frequently occur in very large 



