THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 247 



the young larvae nibble small holes, either in the disk or at 

 the margin of the leaf, but make small progress during the 

 autumn ; long before winter they retire deep into the recesses 

 of the ivy, spin a silken film on the surface of the twigs or 

 stems, fixing themselves thereto by means of their claspers, 

 and adhering with marvellous tenacity during the entire 

 winter ; they exhibit iio desire to venture prematurely from 

 their retreat on the ap|noach of spring, but at the end of 

 April, and throughout May, feed with great moderation on 

 the ivy-leaves that have endured the winter's cold. Whether 

 this very common London insect feeds on any other plant 

 than the ivy in a state of nature I cannot say ; it has cer- 

 tainly not been found by Entomologists on any other, and it as 

 certainly refuses every other food when offered it in confine- 

 ment, and is consequently starved to death if ivy cannot be 

 obtained. When fidl-fed, which is usually at the beginning 

 of Jiuic, it rests in a very straight, stiff, and peculiarly stick- 

 like position ; the claspers are frequently attached to one leaf- 

 stalk, and the legs holding another or perhaps the edge of 

 ■another leaf, the body forming a perfectly straight bridge 

 connecting the two : when annoyed by a sharp concussion 

 of its food-plant it relinquishes its hold, and falls half-way 

 to the ground, hanging by a thread, and, if the shaking or 

 any other annoyance is continued, it falls to the ground, still 

 remaining perfectly straight and rigid, and feigning death, 

 the legs crowded together close to the mouth ; in this stale I 

 have known it remain motionless for hours. Head with the 

 face flat, the crown conspicuously notched : body long and 

 slender, with an obvious lateral skinfold, in which are situ- 

 ated the spiracles, but there are no humps or warts, although 

 the skinfold is somewhat more conspicuously raised on each 

 side of the 6lh segment than on either of the others. Co- 

 lour of the head in front very dark brown, the labrum being 

 paler and reticulated with darker lines ; exactly where the 

 flat facial region and the notched e})icranial region meet, are 

 two pale, obscurely lunulate markings, which have the ap- 

 pearance of eyebrows ; and there is also a pale line between 

 the two lateral plates where they unite on the epicranium : 

 body dark umber-brown, varied here and there with other 

 shades, but these are always inconspicuous and imperfectly 

 defined ; these shades are longitudinal and waved ; there are 



