THE TJNEINA. 



335 



lives principally upon the wild strawberry, and forms 

 a flat case to which he attaches a large fragment cut 

 from the edge of a leaf of the plant, and then pro- 

 ceeding to the centre of the lower surface of this or an- 

 other leaf, fixes his case in this place of concealment, 

 and devours his provender at his leisure. Many 

 species of the genus Coleophora, of which one (the 

 C. gryphipennelld) is very abundant in gardens upon 

 roses, and most of the leaf-eating case-bearers, con- 

 struct their little portable tents by burrowing into 

 the substance of the leaves, eating away the paren- 

 chyma from between the upper and lower cuticles, 

 joining the latter with silk, and cutting them out in 

 the required form. As these larvae grow, they are 

 under the necessity of manufacturing a new habi- 

 tation, and soon after the completion of this, they 

 give it a silken lining ; the caterpillars of some species, 

 however, save themselves the trouble of cutting out 

 their clothes, and live in a portable case composed 

 wholly of silk. A few species, belonging to the 

 genera Talaporia and Solenobia, live in small cases 

 constructed of lichen, which probably also constitutes 

 the food of the caterpillars, as these are found upon 

 rocks, trunks of trees and palings, the principal situ- 

 ations in which those curious plants grow. The 

 females of these are apterous, and never quit the 

 outside of the case in which they have passed their pupa 

 state, but after copulation with the male, lay their eggs 

 in the interior of the case by means of a telescopic ovi- 

 positor. In this respect these insects closely resemble 

 the Psychida, already referred to (p. 312), with which 

 in fact they are placed by many entomologists. 



But amongst these little tailors, for the product of 

 their industry must be regarded rather as clothing 



