ORDER XI. STREPSIPTERA. 335 
eyen, carrying with it its case. It walks on its six front legs. With the 
middle and hind legs it clings to the interior of its case. 
“At the same time that the larva becomes longer it becomes stouter. 
Very soon its garment will become too narrow for it. Will it enlarge its 
old coat, or will it make itself a new one? Réaumur discovered that it pre- 
ferred to widen its old coat. 
“This is what our naturalist saw when he placed larve with blue cases, 
for instance, upon stuff of a red color. The bands, which extended in 
straight lines from one end of the case to the other, showed the part that had 
been added. ; 
“From watching them at different times, 
” 
says this admirable observer, 
“T find that the means which they employ is precisely that to which we 
should have had recourse in a similar case. We know of no other way of 
widening a sheath— a case of any stuff that we find too narrow — than to split 
it right up, and to let in a piece of the proper size between the parts which 
we have thus divided; we should let in a piece on each side if the shape of 
the tube seemed to require it. This is also exactly what our larve do, with 
an extra, and which, with them, is a necessary precaution, so as not to re- 
main exposed whilst they are working at the enlargement of their garment. 
Instead of two pieces, which should each be as long as their case, they let 
in four, each of which is not longer than half the length of their case; and, 
as they never split up more than half the length of the case at the same 
time, it has enough stuff left in it to keep it together while this opening 
is being filled up.” 
The wools of our stuffs furnish the moths not only with clothing, but also 
with food. Their excrements are little grains, which are the same color as 
the wool they have eaten. 
ORDER XI. STREPSIPTERA. 
The family of Strepsiptera, or Twisted Wings, is composed of some 
very singular insects, both in structure and habits. The wings are large, 
membranous, divided by longitudinal nervures, and folding lengthwise, like 
a fan, on which account Latreille names the order Lhipiptera, from the 
Greek word rhipis—a fan. They are mostly parasites, living in and on 
other insects. The genera are NXenos, Stylops, Llenchus, and Lalic- 
tophagus. 
