212 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



and rather square larva in the young stages, to a smooth, oval, 

 leathery-looking creature in the later stages, with nearly three 

 lines to indicate some of the segments ! Dr. Chapman mentions 

 in this April contribution of his that Queensland " may have 

 surprises in store for us." Yes, Queensland has, but none so 

 wonderful, I fear, as his L. brassolis larval changes. Has he 

 not, though usually so very particular as to details, been a triHe 

 careless, in more ways than one, in connection with his L. 

 brassolis notes ? If not, why does he persist in ignoring, in my 

 correspondence with him, that the two species of young moth 

 larvie I refer to are obtained from a red (large type, please, Mr. 

 Printer) ants' nest in the ground, 7iot from the nests of the green 

 ants in the trees. 



I do not know where these moths can be placed ; one species 

 is puzzling to more than one Australian entomologist, and to 

 Dr. Chapman as well. If one is a Lycsenid, both are; or if one 

 is, according to Dr. Chapman, "not very distantly related to 

 Tinea,'' then they both must be, for they are wonderfully alike 

 in all their stages. Certainly, until the past week or two, I knew 

 nothing of the round-segmented larva, except that it came from 

 the same species of red ants' nests, but not in company with the 

 larva with pointed segments ; so, after receiving a card from 

 Dr. Chapman stating that he was sending further notes to the 

 ' Entomologist,' I very carefully overhauled the moths I had, 

 and have found that all along I have had two species instead of 

 one ; then I examined the queer cocoons with protruding pupse, 

 and found them to be slightly different in size, shape, and colour. 

 The dates and localities further assisted me, so that it is quite 

 plain that I now have the moth I wished for ; several I have had 

 for nearly two years. When the moths, pupae, cocoons, and larvae 

 are exhibited side by side, entomologists will understand why 

 one could be deceived when only one species had been bred from 

 the larvae. However, I had ample grounds for "surmising" that 

 Dr. Chapman's larva was that of a moth : I need not specify 

 them here. 



I very much regret my carelessness in the beginning, which 

 has been the means of leading Dr. Chapman astray (certainly he 

 had a very strange larva to deal with), and I have done my best to 

 correct the error. I may add that I am very weary of the subject. 



Finally, I " surmise " that when the young L. brassolis 

 larvae are found, they will very much resemble the full-grown 

 specimens. 



Mitchell St., Townsville. 



N.B. — This poor little larva, which has caused so much 

 trouble, lost all colour through immersion in a two per cent, 

 formalin solution. Its colour should have been bright orange ; 

 smaller examples are pink or reddish. 



