THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 147 



selves little domiciles for concealment or protection ; this is 

 generally effected by curling the edge of a young and tender 

 oak-leaf, and securing it in that position by a few silken 

 threads : it continues to conceal itself in this manner, and 

 appears to be full-fed by the middle of July : I took a great 

 number on the 8th of July, 1864, beating them from the oaks 

 in Birch Wood ; they fell into the umbrella without any 

 covering, but, immediately it had the opportunity, each larva 

 constructed a domicile for itself, generally fastening together 

 two oak-leaves face to face, and allowing them to remain 

 perfectly flat ; but in some instances I found that a larva 

 had bent the tip of an oak-leaf backwards, and fastened it in 

 this position in the manner always practised by the recently 

 emerged larva : in either case the domicile was perfectly 

 closed all round with silken threads : in this retreat it rests 

 during the daj^, having the head always turned on one side, 

 and the 13th segment with its claspers tucked in under the 

 preceding segment : I have never seen one feeding by day ; 

 at night it makes an opening in its dwelling-place, and de- 

 vours the leaves within its reach, but never those of which 

 its dwelling is constructed : sometimes a larva would appear 

 to be very circumspect in what might be called keeping its 

 seat during temporary absence, the anal claspers adhering to 

 the entrance of its retreat, while the body was stretched 

 about in all directions : at other times it would come com- 

 pletely out, and wander at random among the dwelling-places 

 of its brethren ; in such instances it seems to lack the un- 

 erring instinct of the bee in returning to its own hive, for I 

 have more than once seen two larvae contending for the same 

 retreat : in these contests one of the combatants often receives 

 an unpleasant gripe, and its pale green blood issuing from 

 the wound seems to impart cannibalistic propensities to the 

 aggressor, for in these civil wars several larvae were destroyed 

 and partially eaten. The head of the full-grown larva is 

 exserted, quite as wide as the 2nd segment, having very gib- 

 bose cheeks and a notch on the crown : the body is very 

 flaccid and wrinkled both transversely and longitudinally, 

 the latter more especially along the sides : the divisions of 

 the segments are sufl5ciently obvious: a number of small but 

 obvious warts occur on the body ; the 2nd segment is with- 

 out these warts ; the 3rd and 4th have ten each ; the rest, as 



