110 • [October, 



and Mr. Hartley Durrant, I searched among fallen cones of spruce fir 

 in other localities nearer to Lynn, examining, probably, thousands of 

 cones and bringing great numbers home. From these I reared half a 

 dozen more terebrella at the end of July and beginning of August. 

 These varied greatly in size, two being very large specimens. 



Prom the fact that the green cones were to be found already 

 stunted and distorted, from the action of the contained larvse, early in 

 August, when the moths were doubtless on the wing and their eggs 

 hardly laid, it is evident that the larva must feed for the greater part 

 of two years. This is confirmed by Mr. Durrant's observations. He 

 tells me that he is tolerably certain that the larva is gregarious when 

 young — that is to say, that the moth deposits several eggs upon the 

 same cone — and that he has found cones bearing evident marks of 

 having been inhabited by a number of young larvae. It seems probable, 

 therefore, that they would leave this original cone in the spring and 

 find their way into the new cones when very young, and usually entering 

 separate cones. Tet I found one instance in which two had pupated 

 in one cone and had left their pupa skins in situ. The larva eats 

 through the woody sheaths or scales of the cone devouring the seeds, 

 and thus checks the growth of the cone and causes it to look ragged and 

 deformed. The growth of the larva must be extremely slow, it remains 

 in the cone all the winter, is in no degree disturbed by its fall to the 

 ground, and seems to approve of the saturated condition into which it 

 gets upon the ground, for, having eaten all the seeds, or as many as it 

 requires, it eats the woody substance of the scales, hollowing out a 

 large chamber in the cone, which chamber it, however, keeps well filled 

 with excrement, and here assumes the pupa state in July, making little 

 or no cocoon, and emerging as a moth in about a fortnight. 



The larva when full-grown is rather sluggish, plump, and shining, 

 with segments deeply divided and rather swollen. Colour, dull white, 

 with the whole dorsal region strongly shaded by the dark grey internal 

 dorsal vessel. Spots small, black ; head and dorsal plate pale chestnut, 

 the latter dotted behind with black ; anal plate black, divided trans- 

 versely. The pupa is light brown, very slender and small in proportion 

 to the size of the moth. 



Zincken has described the larva as "yellowish-white, with six 

 rows of small black raised dots. Head nut-brown, dorsal plate some- 

 what paler, anal plate the same. Found at the end of summer in the 

 small slight barren cones of JPinus abies which contain no ripe 'seeds. 

 Pupating in the earth. Occasionally the larva passes the winter in the 

 cone. Imago in June and July. In mountainous regions." 



