174 



PSYCHE. 



[November 1S91. 



ments are dirty white or black with yellow- 

 ish spots, the first two segments having a 

 predominance of yellow, the others of black; 

 the ventral surface is dirty white or yel- 

 lowish. 



Two specimens changed to imago on 

 September ioth at Cape Cod after eight 

 days in pupa. (Notes of 1861.) 



The pupa is figured by Comstock 

 (Rep. U. S. entom. for 1SS1 , pi. 18, 

 fig. 4) and the larva by Candeze (Mem. 

 soc. sc. Liege, vi, pi. 6. fig. 7.). 



CHLAMYS PLICATA. 



The larva of this beetle may be found 

 abundantly the last of July and early 

 in August hanging perpendicularly with 

 its case from the under side of leaves of 

 sweet fern. 



It has an orange yellow body, deepening 

 In tint toward the tail with a delicate suffu- 

 sion above of light olivaceous green, but the 

 head and long legs are jet black, and the 

 dorsum of the thorax and. the parts above 

 the legs are of a dark testaceous. The whole 

 bodv is sparsely covered with microscopic 

 hairs, and one notes a depression in the 

 middle of the dorsum of the last segment. 



When taken from its case the tail is 

 curled under its body and this is evi- 

 dently its normal attitude. 



The larval cases are from five to six 

 millimetres long for the full grown 

 creature, and at the most about three 

 millimetres broad. They are smooth 

 within but externally rough, blacky 

 oval, the oblique open end generally 

 minutely flaring with a more or less 

 distinct notch above and below, and 

 especially below, fur the better use of 

 the legs ; it looks as if made of black 



papier mache and is evidently formed 

 by accretion, as may best be seen by 

 examining the under surface where there 

 is an indistinct median groove, where 

 the bands of accretions on either side 

 seem to have been brought together. 

 These accretions are laid on apparently 

 at about ten or twelve times during the 

 life of the larva, in an oblique course, 

 broadest on the back and narrowest on 

 the ventral side. According to Riley 

 and Murtfeldt it has as its basis "a cov- 

 ering of dark sticky excrementitious 

 matter . . . somewhat bell shaped, the 

 upper end being largest, squarely 

 docked and slightly depressed so as to 

 form a circular rim around the margin" 

 which the female constructs to cover 

 the egg, and which is cut away from 

 its attachments by the larva when born 

 and made the basis of its movable 

 house. The manner of enlargement 

 has yet to be told. 



The larva crawls with some rapidity, 

 and when it retreats within its case it is 

 wholly beyond the deepest cleft, the 

 claws of the feet only projecting there- 

 from. When one is forcibly removed, 

 it seems unable to get back again ; at 

 least such as I have experimented upon 

 have failed to do so, though they tried 

 hard to do so by going in head fore- 

 most ; they succeeded in getting only 

 the head and three of the legs inside, 

 the length of the legs appearing a 

 hindrance. 



Before changing to pupa they turn 

 around in the sac so that the anal ex- 

 tremity is toward the former opening, 

 which is now closed, since in prepara- 



