90 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



perchance a Limacodid or Zygfenid. If it were a Limacodid, one 

 would expect some cutaneous armature on so small a larva. 



The mam point, however, is that Mr. Dodd's surmise that 

 this larva is a Tineine is only a surmise, and, at that, without 

 foundation. Queensland may have surprises in store for us as 

 to larval structure, as in other things, but I think we must not 

 invent them before they are proved. 



This small larva is, then, a macro, with high probability a 

 Lycsenid. What, therefore, more likely than that it is the 

 desired young larva of L. hrassolis ? It will certainly be curious, 

 should this be so, that Mr. Dodd should have accidentally for- 

 warded it as such without knowing he had done so, and believing 

 all the time it was something else. 



Provisionally, then, and as a working hypothesis till the con- 

 trary is proved, I assert that this larva is the young larva of 

 L. brassolis. 



It is only just to Mr. South to say that he has throughout 

 believed that this was the larva of L. brassolis, but, like myself, 

 had to bow to Mr. Dodd's apparently definite statement. 



I do not know that Mr. Dodd will have any objection to my 

 quoting the following from his letter of Jan. 12th, 1903 : — 



" The drought has killed many trees, and caused many others 

 to drop their leaves, so that they were as bare as English trees 

 in the winter ; consequently there has been very little food for 

 the green ants, and they have perished in many places where 

 they were very numerous before ; and where the ants have out- 

 lived the drought, there were to be found no signs of ' brassolis.' 

 It is just possible that in such a time of scarcity the ants were 

 compelled to eat any larvae in their nests ; no doubt if they 

 tackled them in their early stages they could easily destroy 

 them. 



" When I obtained my fine supply (they emerged last January), 

 I naturally expected a big crop would follow and be obtainable in 

 the nests in various localities, but much searching ended in keen 

 disappointment. 



" I have not seen a larva during the whole year ..." 



** From the ants' nests I obtain two larvae, one with rounded 

 segments (same as you received from Mr. South), another with 

 toothed or saw-like edges. I know nothing of the round-seg- 

 mented one, except that is in the ants' nests and sucks their 

 larvsG. 



" .... It is absolutely certain that L. b., in its maturer 

 stages, feeds upon ant-grubs." 



Betula, Reigate : February 24th, 1903. 



