284 Mr. Albert Miiller 07i the ravages of the larva 



buccal organs piceoiis, body greenisli-yellow, dorsal region 

 with three black longitudinal and parallel stripes ; segment 

 next to the head without any mark or spot whatever ; 

 above the ventral feet a row of black more or less oval 

 raised spots. Pectoral legs spotted very slightly, each 

 with a blackish horny shield sideways exteriorly; between 

 each pair of ventral feet a yellomsh wart-like protuberance. 

 In one set of younger (?) larvee on the bush, the central 

 dorsal stripe was entirely absent. 



I have in vain endeavoured to identify these larvse with 

 those described by Brischke, Zaddach and Thomson. My 

 larvte are evidently the same as those figiu^ed by Reaumur, 

 (Memoires, T. V., pi. 11, figs. 3, 4), and the same as those 

 described by Hartig (Blattwespen,etc., p. 218 ) as belonging 

 to his Ne7natus ochraceus. 



Several of them have since (4th October, 1872) spun 

 their oval cocoons of a pale-yellowish silk at the bottom of 

 a glass vessel in which I had confined them, so I hope to 

 report their correct name on a future occasion. 



While I kept watching the bush in question, I noticed 

 a number of a species oi Hemiptera — Picromerus hidens, L. 

 — occupied with sucking the juices of these saw-fly larvfe; 

 and to judge by the great number of dead half-shrivelled 

 larvae lying underneath the bush, this Avholesale slaughter 

 must have been going on for some days. Specimens of 

 this bug came at irregular intervals crawling up the various 

 branches leading to the twigs where their victims were 

 feeding. One of these Hemiptera, Avhich I kept watching 

 at convenient times on my return home, where I supplied 

 it \at\\ some branches full of feeding larvee, proceeded as 

 follows in satisfying its appetite : — 



1.35 P.M. — Saw the Picromerus sucking one of the 

 larvae ; sucker inserted near the middle of the underside of 

 the body ; larva struggling but held partly aloof, spitted 

 on the rostrum. For a moment the Hemipteron held on 

 by the fore legs only, the hind legs being cleansed by being 

 rubbed against each other. The saw-fly larva was quite 

 helpless within a quarter of an hour, appearing then but 

 slightly emptied. The bug now put it down on the leaf, 

 and pressing its fore legs against the body, withdrew its 

 rostrum, which was then slowly and carefidly cleaned by 

 being passed between the anterior tarsi. With the cleansing 

 of the antennas it proceeded in a different manner. These 

 appendages were alternately passed through a notch at the 

 end of each anterior tibia. 



