OIKETICUS KIRBYI. Ill 



those of the genus Psyche, Fumea, &c. " The 

 male larva of Psyche," says Mr. Westwood,* " pre- 

 viously to assuming the pupa state, fastens its case 

 by the mouth to the surface of leaves and the stems 

 of plants; the larva then turns, so that its head 

 is pointed towards the opposite aperture, out of 

 which the pupa half pushes itself before becoming 

 an imago; the females, on the other hand, never 

 leave their cases ; and from some observations made 

 by Ochsenheimer and Ingpen, it would appear that 

 these females produce fertile eggs without impreg- 

 nation." There is therefore, a striking analogy be- 

 tween these insects and Oiketicus, although many 

 points remain in which they materially differ. 



Mr. Guilding states that he became acquainted 

 with these animals on returning to the "West Indies 

 in 1817; but although he had attentively studied 

 them, he was unable to complete their history for 

 many years afterwards. The larvae being common 

 on many different kinds of trees, were bred in con- 

 siderable numbers, but he was long disappointed in 

 discovering the female insect. The male, at the 

 stated period, made its appearance; but he never 

 dreamed that its unwieldy and almost motionless 

 partner was to be searched for in the puparium, 

 which it was destined never to desert. Judging 

 from other insects, he imagined that the female 

 pupa had not been fully developed in consequence 

 of the attacks of parasitic ichneumonidae. It was 



+ Introduction to the Modern Classification of Insects, 

 vol. ii. p. 389. 



