126 



uext year shoukl be fed off as late as possible or mowed before breaking. In 

 this way the female moths will uot be attracted to the tall vegetation on sucli 

 lands when laying their eggs. — Fletcher. 



Peak and Cherry Slug {Selandria ccnisi). 



(Fig. 33.) 



This insect passes the winter in the pupa state under ground ; the flies, 

 the progenitors of the mischievous brood of slugs, appearing on the wing 

 about the third week in May until the middle of June. The fly is of a glossy 

 black colour, with four transparent wings, the front pair being crossed by a 

 dusky cloud ; the veins are brownish and the legs dull yellow, with black 

 thighs, e.xeept the hind pair, which are black at both extremities, and dull 

 yellow in the middle. The female fly is more than one-fifth of an inch long ; 

 the male is somewhat smaller. When the trees on which the.se flies are at 

 work are jarred or shaken, or if the flies are otherwise disturbed, they fall to 

 the ground, where, folding their antennre under their bodies and bending the 

 head forward and under, they remain for a time motionless. 



The female of this species begins to deposit her eggs early in June; they 

 are placed singly within little semi-circular incisions through the skin of the 

 leaf, sometimes on the under side and sometimes on the upper. In about a 

 fortnight these eggs hatch. 



The newly-hatched slug is at first white, but soon a slimy matter oozes 

 out of the skin and covers the upper part of the bod.v with an olive-coloured 

 sticky coating. After changing its skin four times, it attains the length of 

 half an inch or more and is then nearly full-grown. It is a disgusting-looking 

 creature, a slimy, blackish, or olive-brown slu.g. with the anterior part of its 

 body so swollen as to resemble somewhat a tadpole in form, and having a 

 disagreeable and sickening odour. The head is small, of a reddish colour, 

 and is almost entirely concealed under the front segments. It is of a dull, 

 yellowish colour beneath, with tweut.v very short legs, one pair under each 

 segment, except the fourtli and the last. After the last moult it loses its 

 slimy appearance and dark colour, and appears in a clean, yellow skin entirely 

 free from slime. Its form also is changed, being proportionately longer. In a 

 few hours after this change it leaves the tree and crawls or falls to the ground, 

 where it buries itself to a depth of from one to three or four Inches. By 

 repeated movements of the body the earth is pressed firmly on all sides, and 

 an oblong oval chamber is formed, which is afterwards lined with a sticky. 



