The Life History of Clythra qiiadri-pundata. 2o 



F.Buchanan White (Scot. Nat.,vol.i,p.261, 1871) describes 

 the larval case of Clythra quadri-pundata, which he says 

 is of black excrementitious matter, and is constructed by the 

 larva to protect itself from the ants. He also states that the 

 larvae (which he records as common in Scotland in the nests 

 of Formica rufa) feed on the spongy material which forms 

 the older part of the ant-hill, but he does not tell us on 

 what grounds he makes this statement. He mentions 

 that the larva fastens its case to a twig or other object in 

 the nest to pupate, turning round and facing the bottom 

 of the case. 



Collett (Ent. Mo. Mag., xx, p. 40, 1883) records finding 

 Clythra qitadri-punetata in numbers near Hastings. They 

 were flying in the sunshine around nests of Formica rufa, 

 or sittinfj on bushes overhanging them. On several occasions 

 he saw specimens crawling about with the ants, and once 

 a $ emerging from the entrance to the subterranean cells. 



Fabre (Souvenirs Entomologiques, Sept. Serre, pp. 235- 

 259), writing on species of Clythra and Cryptoccphalus, 

 describes the larval cases, and says that of Clythra is 

 insoluble in water, and fire has not much effect on it. In 

 the flame of a candle it loses its brown colour, and takes 

 on the tint of calcined ferruginous earth; hence the base 

 must be of a mineral nature. He says the larva makes 

 the case by bringing out of the back of it a pellet of 

 excrement, which it kneads with a little earth, and plasters 

 on with its mandibles. To enlarge the case it removes 

 part of the inside and puts it on to the outside. He 

 describes %g^ and egg-case (figuring the egg-Ciise of Clythra 

 quadri-punctata, which is not however very like it). He 

 mentions that the $ $ let the eggs fall at intervals promis- 

 cuously from the boughs (one species of Clythra however 

 fastening them by long filaments to a branch), and that 

 the newly-hatched larva remains in the egg-case and adds 

 to it to form the larval case. He says that the larviB of 

 Clythra longipes fed on bits of dead moistened bark, but that 

 he believes they really ate the lichen and algse that covered 

 it, and not the bark itself. He makes no mention whatever 

 of their connection with ants. 



