FUMEA CASTA. 327 



their first cases from that of the parent. Tearle notes (Ent. Wk. 

 Int., vi., p. 132) the newly hatched larvae as having made cases of the 

 tissue-paper lining the inside of a box each looking like a minute 

 pillar of pith to the naked eye, but, " under a microscope, something 

 like a thimble 2in. long and fin. wide at the opening, supported by 

 something inside like a Jack-in-the-green, presently the thimble fell 

 back, and a caterpillar crept half out, walked along on its six true legs, 

 the thimble toppling about unsteadily, till at last it extinguished the 

 tenant, then, a rest, the thimble fell back, and the walking commenced 

 again." , 



Larva. — The larva is reddish-brown in tint ; the head and thoracic 

 plates have the dark and pale pattern so common in Psychids. Taking 

 the dark as the ground colour, it is a very dark brown, almost black on 

 the prothorax, especially laterally. There is a central, fairly broad, 

 pale dorsal line, slightly interrupted by a dot or two at prothoracic 

 anterior margin, which widens out on the head and is interrupted cen- 

 trally by two dark lines running from the dots on prothorax which 

 continue forwards along the margin of the clypeus. The subdorsal 

 white band is fairly broad and interrupted at the centre of each segment 

 by several black dots. Below this is a nearly lateral pale line along the 

 line of junction of meso plate with the one beneath. The central part 

 of each side of the head is pale with two dark lines or patches invading 

 it from the dark posterior margin. The abdominal segments have the 

 two dorsal transverse ridges well marked, and have also some paler 

 spots along the anterior margin of segment and about thoracic region. 

 These seem to be freer from skin points than elsewhere (Chapman. 

 Larva Farnborough, May, 1899). Another larva is, on the whole, a 

 little paler in tint, the white patch on head dimmed and obscured, 

 so that it is only a shade paler than the dark area*, the marginal 

 portions of plates of 2nd and 3rd thoracic, are more separated from 

 the dorsal by a broader white line or band, but have the appearance of 

 being on the same piece of chitin, the pale abdominal spots are more 

 definite, almost forming a supraspiracular line from 4th abdominal 

 backwards, they are more evident posteriorly and hardly exist on 1st 

 abdominal segment, there are two on each side between the transverse 

 ridges, making four dorsally across the centre of the segment. The pro- 

 legs vary in possessing from 18-23 hooks, having 18 on one side and 22 

 on the other in one instance, and are therefore of no specific value 

 (Chapman. Larvte Norwood and Bournemouth, May, 1899) . The full-fed 

 larva is about 6"5mm. in length when stretched, the thoracic segments 

 are very slender, but the abdominal segments gradually increase in size 

 to the 4th, the 4th-8th being almost equally wide, the anal segment 

 very narrow. Head : Brown with paler markings and several hairs, 

 ocelli black. Thorax : The prothorax covered with a dark brown 

 corneous shield divided into a series of parallel bands by a pale medio- 

 dorsal and two subdorsal lines ; the meso- and metathorax also 

 covered with paler, somewhat reddish-brown, corneous shields and 

 similarly divided into bands by the continuation of the pale lines on 

 prothorax, an extra dark patch on either side, in the spiracular area, 

 is found on these segments. Leys : The true legs blackish at base, 



* There is, however, considerable variation in head-colouring, as another larva 

 has two white subdorsal lines, and in another the head is almost entirely black. 



