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Notes on the larva of Trochilium andrenseforme, Lasp. 

 By Eustace R. Bankes, M.A., F.E.S. 



On July 26th last I received, througli the generosity of 

 the Hon. N. Charles Rothschild, a portion of a stem of 

 Viburnum lantana that he knew, by deduction, must 

 contain a feeding larva of the extremely rare Trochilium 

 andrenseforme. As Mr. Rothschild had informed me that, 

 although it was certain that some of the very few larvae 

 he had obtained had made external journeys along the 

 stems, he had not succeeded in catching sight of any of 

 them, and, to the best of my belief, no human eye had 

 ever rested on the insect in this stage, it was witli all the 

 more intense satisfaction that, at 7 a.m. on July 28th, 1 

 found my larva on the outside of the stem, near the top 

 of it. Thinking that it might prefer a fresh-cut piece of 

 stem, I started off in search of a suitable one, leaving it 

 where it was, and it then proceeded to gnaw an excavation 

 in the bark, and to build a circular, blister-like, chamber 

 over itself, composed of fragments of bark and gnawed 

 wood, woven together with white silk. The small size of 

 the chamber, of which the diameter was only 6.5 mm., did 

 not nearly admit of its owner lying stretched in a straight 

 line therein, and, during the whole course of operations, 

 extending over some hours, the latter had to maintain a 

 curled or contorted attitude, though its truly marvellous 

 flexibility enabled it to reverse its position, or to assume 

 any one that might be necessary. I was not free to 

 describe the larva until about 3 p.m., by which hour it 

 had apparently completed its chamber — which was soft to 

 the touch and projected noticeably above the surface of 

 the surrounding bark — and was entirely concealed therein. 

 In order to extract the larva for examination, it was 

 necessary to break open its chamber, of which the walls 

 had been finished first, the centre of the somewhat arched 

 roof being the last portion to be filled in, and the occupant 

 was then found busily engaged in boring into the solid 

 wood of the stem. It is clear, therefore, that the chamber 

 is constructed in order to conceal and protect the larva 



