150 THE entomologist's record. 



This is the evidence we have collected, and though it is not as com- 

 plete or as precise as either my brother or I had hoped, it has taught 

 us the extreme difficulty of this line of observation, and it has also 

 taught us that in order to get really good results one wants to be able 

 to devote one's entire attention to it, to the exclusion of every other 

 activity, for a long period. 



Notes on the Coleophoridae. 



By Hy. J. TURNEE, F.E.S. 



COLEOPHORA PARIPENNRLLA. 



These notes, which were made some years ago, have been aw^ait- 

 ing an opportunity to continue, when other matter might not be too 

 pressing at the moment. 



My first experience with this species was through the kindness of 

 my friend Mr. A. Sich, who sent me several cases containing 

 living larvae from Lausanne, on the shores of Lake Geneva, where 

 he had met with them on rose in September. For a time the larvae 

 fed quite well on a small-leaved form of the garden rose, but I failed to 

 rear them, as convenience for the hibernation of the cases with full fed 

 larvfe was not at hand, and they will not take to any position except 

 what is practically a natural one in the open. 



The cases were apparently a very flattened tube when the larvae 

 were young, if one may judge from the anal end of the full sized case, 

 to which additions were made coincident wath the gradual growth of 

 the larva, by the attachment at first of very small pieces of leaf laid 

 around the mouth opening one over the other, except on the underside, 

 which was strongly keeled. The tube gradually increased in diameter 

 and about midway the portions of attached leaves were very much in 

 a series of strong flounces directed somewhat backwards. The pieces 

 attached around the mouth opening of the full-sized case are not so 

 large and irregular as those which preceed and are situated in about 

 the middle third of the tube. The keel is quite straight from the anal 

 end to the mouth opening, and a strip of the case along each side of 

 the keel is very smooth, the smoothest part of the case, and of a lighter 

 brown colour l3han the rest of the case. The keel is in line with the 

 joined edges of the two valves of the anal opening, and is continued 

 again for a short distance on the back of the case, in line with the 

 upper suture of anal valves. This is the appearance of the case in the 

 autumn, but probably spring-found cases may be more uniform, the 

 projecting portions of leaf particles having worn oft' during the rigours 

 of the winter exposure on fence or tree-trunk. 



At the meeting of the South London Entomological Society, in 

 September of the following year, Mr. Sich exhibited half a dozen cases 

 with their living larvae of C. paripennella, which he had met with at 

 Barnes, feeding on sloe. They were of diflerent sizes, one or two being 

 very small, while others were of considerable growth. It was not until 

 midday on September 15th ihat I was able to look closely at them, 

 when a most curious circumstance attracted my attention to one case. 

 From the mouth opening of this particular case protruded the head 

 and two or three of the following segments of a larva, and it seemed 

 as if the case was slightly constricting the body of the larva and not 



