156 



PSYCHE. 



[October 1891. 



o 







■which I reared in my aquarium, came 

 out with a large tubercle on each side 

 of the head. These tubercles are sup- 

 posed to be organs of scent. 



Another species of the same family 

 makes a case (fig. 14) in 

 shape so like the preceding 

 that I at first confounded the 

 two, but the larva of this 

 latter species has a yellow 

 head striped with black, while that of 

 the former has a plain gray head. 

 Moreover the yellow-faced one uses finer 

 materials, and before pupation shuts 

 itself in at each end with a disk, in- 

 stead of a grain of gravel. One of the 

 imagos emerged on June 15th. 



Leptoceridae. (Mystacidae.) I 

 have found in Stony Brook four 

 species belonging to this family, 

 and another in Jamaica Pond. This 

 last species makes small cases, 9 mm. 

 long, of little sticks, arranged trans- 

 versely like those of Hallesus. The 

 imago is a pretty little gray spotted 

 ci-eature, but I have not been able to 

 ascertain its name. 



But the prettiest of my Stony Brook 

 Leptoceridae is colored a soft yellowish 

 brown, and has very long slender anten- 

 nae, which indeed are characteristic of 

 the family. It is said to belong "near 

 Setodes ignita." The larva is most 

 abundant on the plants of 

 Callitriche verna or "water 

 starwort" from the leaves of 

 which it usually makes its 

 case. This (fig. 15) is a deli- 

 cate tapering cone, about 20 

 mm. long, and the bits of leaf 



Fig. is- 



are arranged side by side in a spiral, 

 which in some individuals winds to 

 the right, in others to the left. In a 

 tube 21 mm. long, there were 11 

 turns to the spiral. The little larva pro- 

 trudes its long slender legs from the 

 case, and swims merrily about in the 

 water. It pupates in June and July, 

 and is easy to rear in confinement. 

 The case of the pupa is about 10 mm. 

 long, and is evenly cylindrical, each end 

 being closed with a disk which has a 

 small round hole in the centre. 



The larva of Mystacides nigra also 

 swims with freedom and is abundant 

 both in Stony Brook and Jamaica 

 Pond. Its little case (fig. 16). 

 about 10 mm. long, varies much, 

 both as to materials and their 

 arrangement, but is chiefly com- 

 posed of bits of bark, and little sticks, 

 sometimes filled in with fine sand. It 

 is easy to rear, and the little black 

 imago may be recognized by a pecu- 

 liar bend in each of the upper wings, 

 which makes them look as if broken. 



A species of Molanna, a genus con- 

 sidered one of the most inter- 

 esting of those found in 

 Great Britain, is often quite 

 abundant on the sandy bottom 

 of the brook, but I have never 

 reared it, though it does well Fi s- '7- 

 in an aquarium, until it pupates ; it 

 makes a flattened case (fig. 17), with 

 an arched dorsal side, which projects 

 far above the anterior end, so that 

 nothing whatever is seen of the larva 

 when it is crawling on the bottom. The 

 appearance is as if some of the sand 



