EPICHNOPTERIX PULLA. 359 



Case. — The case, of hybernating size, is 8mm. long and 2-3mm. 

 wide, but there is one long piece of grass -leaf attached, that projects 

 at either end, and is almost 11mm. in length. It is spindle-shaped, 

 tapering at both ends, less markedly at the head end, the anal end 

 being somewhat rounded ; it is composed of silk, with small fragments 

 of grass leaf or seed husks attached, and closely swathed for the greater 

 part of its length in flat pieces of grass-leaf (Bacot, October 8th, 1899). 

 The full-grown case is only 9mm. -15mm. long, with projecting grass 

 leaves 26mm. (similarly constructed to that of W. retkella) ; cylindrical 

 except that it narrows to the free end, and the covering grasses are so 

 appressed to it and bent into a curve as to apply closely to it, that a 

 surface line from end to end either of case or cover gives a curved and 

 not a straight line. In addition the free end has its two sides 

 appressed into a line rather than gathered to a point (sharp or blunt) as 

 in most Psychidae, or, in other words, the projection of grass leaves 

 beyond the end on one side makes the appearance of such flattening 

 very strong although probably only slight. The projecting straws 

 vary much in length, number, and curvature, usually two or three in 

 number, side by side, on one side only of the case and following the 

 curvature of the case, they pass across in some degree to the other side 

 and have a length of about a quarter the case, but may be shorter or . 

 longer to nearly the full length of the case (Chapman). The case is 

 covered with flattened straws, paler than those ordinarily found on the 

 cases of allied species, placed longitudinally in an almost regular 

 manner ; cylindrical in shape, diameter uniform, some of the straws 

 extending slightly beyond the lower extremity of the sac. The cases 

 found in the fields near Chapelle-des-Buis and various parts of the 

 dept. du Doubs are smaller than those found in a damp meadow at 

 Enfer-de-Morre, near Besancon, where the cases are also of a much 

 larger size than those taken in the drier fields or in the mountains 

 (Bruand). Made of silk, covered with short lengths of slender dried 

 grass laid most carefully parallel lengthwise, not spreading, but of 

 equal thickness at each end ; nearly cylindrical but in the smallest 

 degree swollen in the middle. Usually two or three of the bits of grass 

 are longer than the rest and project beyond the end of the case 

 (Barrett). 



Habits of Larva. — The eggs hatch during the summer and the 

 young larva feeds up very slowly until the autumn when it hyber- 

 nates, awaking early from its lethargy, and becoming fullfed in April, 

 when it pupates. The larva appears always to feed very low down and 

 to remain near the ground among the tangled mass of dead rush and 

 grass stems, oftentimes crawling up but very little higher to pupate. 

 This is probably due to the fact that it frequently haunts low marshy 

 fields in this country. The female cases are to be found on rush and 

 grass stems at Purbeck (Bankes), the cases always to be found low 

 down among grass and tidal debris on the Essex coast (Burrows). The 

 larva fixes its case for pupation on a somewhat elevated stem or even 

 on the trunk of a tree if there be one in the field, generally then on 

 the eastern side and rarely more than a foot from the ground (Bruand). 

 Where walls are plentiful in its haunts the larva often climbs these before 

 pupating. Milliere notes the spun-up cases as especially abundant on 

 the walls between Cannes and Golfe-Jouan. Freyer notes the larva 

 as unable to crawl outside its case, but rather lively when within it. 



