174 THE ENTOMOLOOIST. 



the caterpillar, in the living state, had descended into the ground 

 tail-foremost, the stem of the fungus afterwards springing from 

 a point between the back of the head and the first fold of the 

 neck, and then ascending vertically to reach the light. Since 

 that date I have been examining the specimens in my collection, 

 and I have found one very curious example in which there is 

 evidence of a different proceeding on the part of the caterpillar, 

 with exactly similar growth of the fungus. In this instance the 

 caterpillar had evidently buried itself head-foremost, and then 

 turned its head slightly to the left, whereupon the fungus had 

 commenced its stem-growth at the usual point, and travelled 

 upwards in a line with the body, curving and twisting somewhat 

 before emerging at the surface of the ground. 



"Inmost specimens the stem is more or less twisted, and 

 sometimes bifurcate before it reaches the surface, after which it 

 assumes a perfectly erect character, the fructification being at 

 the top, 3 or 4 in. of the terminal part being covered with 

 closely-set spores, having externally a granulate appearance. 

 The longest stems I have met with ordinarily measure 7 or 8 

 in. from the insertion to the extreme tip. 



" I trust I have made myself sufficiently clear, but the 

 peculiarity I have been describing is better seen on the accom- 

 panying plate (reduced from a photograph), in which fig. 1 re- 

 presents this abnormal form. Figs. 2 and 3 on the same plate 

 exhibit the vegetable caterpillar as it is ordinarily met with 

 (upper and lower aspect), the smaller of the two showing the 

 branched process I have mentioned, about an inch from its head. 

 Fig. 4 illustrates the curved manner in which the caterpillar 

 sometimes disposes its body before undergoing its final transmu- 

 tation into fungus. The body of the specimen represented by 

 fig. 1 measures 75 mm., and its stem, measured in a straight 

 line, 150 mm. Although the caterpillars are of about equal size^ 

 the stem of No. 1, owing to its eccentric manner of growth, is 

 2-5 in. longer than that of No. 2. (The body of the largest 

 caterpillar measures exactly 3 in. in length.) 



*' The popular notion that the vegetable caterpillar is found 

 only under rata- and kauri-trees is quite an erroneous one. It 

 is abundant in the southern parts of the North Island, where the 

 kauri does not exist, and I have found it in localities from which 

 the rata is absent, — for example, in small clumps of bush in the 

 Taupo country. Indeed, it may be looked for in all suitable 

 places, although, as a rule, it is more numerous near the summits 

 of the wooded ranges, the fungus shooting up its little stem, like 

 a miniature bulrush, among the dead leaves and decaying vege- 

 tation which cover the ground in such situations, often to the 

 depth of several inches. After scraping away this surface- 

 covering, it is necessary to dig out the vegetable caterpillar very 

 carefully with a sheath-knife, the slightest attempt at forcing it 



