﻿GILLMERIA 
  PALLIDACTYLA. 
  241 
  

  

  surface, 
  turning 
  after 
  two 
  days 
  to 
  deep 
  flesh 
  colour 
  (Fish 
  teste 
  Fernald, 
  

   Pter. 
  Nth. 
  America, 
  p. 
  34). 
  

  

  Habits 
  of 
  larva. 
  — 
  In 
  confinement, 
  eggs 
  laid 
  in 
  early 
  July, 
  1904, 
  

   had 
  mostly 
  hatched 
  by 
  July 
  18th, 
  and 
  the 
  two 
  flower-spikes, 
  of 
  the 
  

   potted 
  plants 
  on 
  which 
  they 
  had 
  been 
  deposited, 
  showed 
  signs 
  of 
  

   withering 
  a 
  few 
  days 
  later, 
  when 
  a 
  careful 
  examination, 
  by 
  splitting 
  a 
  

   portion 
  of 
  the 
  stem 
  lengthwise, 
  showed 
  that 
  the 
  pith 
  of 
  the 
  part 
  

   examined 
  was 
  riddled 
  with 
  the 
  mines 
  of 
  the 
  young 
  larvae, 
  which 
  had 
  

   bored 
  thereinto. 
  These 
  larvae 
  apparently 
  entered 
  at 
  the 
  axils 
  near 
  the 
  

   flower-head, 
  from 
  which 
  points 
  they 
  mined 
  down 
  into 
  the 
  stem. 
  

   Others, 
  however, 
  do 
  not, 
  at 
  first, 
  attack 
  the 
  pith, 
  many 
  apparently 
  feed- 
  

   ing 
  just 
  beneath 
  the 
  surface 
  in 
  the 
  juicy 
  cambium 
  layer, 
  where 
  they 
  

   make 
  small 
  mined 
  tracks 
  ; 
  the 
  favourite 
  feeding-position 
  would 
  seem 
  

   to 
  be 
  at 
  the 
  junction 
  of 
  a 
  leafstalk 
  with 
  the 
  stem 
  ; 
  the 
  damage 
  done 
  to 
  

   the 
  plant 
  (compared 
  with 
  that 
  done 
  by 
  the 
  larva 
  of 
  P. 
  isodactylus) 
  appears 
  

   to 
  be 
  very 
  little, 
  yet 
  the 
  plant 
  shows 
  the 
  attack 
  more 
  than 
  the 
  foodplant 
  of 
  

   the 
  latter 
  species. 
  The 
  larvae 
  evidently 
  hybernate 
  young. 
  They 
  are 
  rarely 
  

   to 
  be 
  found 
  in 
  spring 
  till 
  mid-April, 
  or 
  even 
  early 
  May 
  ; 
  they 
  have 
  then 
  

   left 
  their 
  hybernacula, 
  and 
  have, 
  apparently, 
  entered 
  the 
  crown-shoot 
  

   when 
  very 
  small, 
  judging 
  from 
  the 
  slight 
  signs 
  of 
  entrance 
  that 
  are 
  trace- 
  

   able; 
  they 
  then 
  appear 
  to 
  clear 
  out 
  the 
  crown 
  as 
  it 
  grows, 
  eating 
  down 
  

   into 
  the 
  shoot, 
  and 
  mining 
  thus 
  for 
  a 
  considerable 
  distance. 
  At 
  this 
  

   time 
  (May 
  8th), 
  no 
  lateral 
  shoots 
  appear 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  attacked, 
  and 
  

   most 
  of 
  the 
  larvae 
  appear 
  to 
  be 
  in 
  their 
  penultimate 
  instar. 
  A 
  later 
  

   lot, 
  found 
  May 
  22nd, 
  1904, 
  were 
  then 
  in 
  their 
  last 
  instar, 
  and 
  their 
  

   presence 
  was 
  very 
  easily 
  detected, 
  compared 
  with 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  earlier- 
  

   found 
  larvae. 
  In 
  some 
  cases, 
  the 
  affected 
  shoots 
  contained 
  two 
  larvae, 
  

   one 
  working 
  down 
  from 
  the 
  crown 
  in 
  the 
  usual 
  way, 
  the 
  other 
  having 
  

   entered 
  at 
  an 
  axil 
  lower 
  down 
  the 
  stem, 
  and 
  so 
  mining 
  below 
  the 
  first 
  

   one 
  (Bacot). 
  It 
  seems 
  impossible 
  to 
  determine, 
  from 
  the 
  stems 
  of 
  

   yarrow 
  containing 
  the 
  early 
  spring 
  larvae, 
  where 
  hybernation 
  has 
  taken 
  

   place 
  ; 
  all 
  the 
  young 
  affected 
  shoots 
  received 
  from 
  Mr. 
  Ovenden, 
  and 
  

   collected 
  at 
  Higham, 
  May 
  15th, 
  1904, 
  appeared 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  recently 
  

   entered. 
  An 
  examination 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  plants 
  in 
  early 
  April 
  was 
  quite 
  fruit- 
  

   less, 
  as 
  there 
  were 
  no 
  traces 
  whatever 
  of 
  larvae, 
  nor 
  could 
  their 
  place 
  of 
  

   hybernation 
  be 
  detected. 
  One 
  stem 
  contained 
  two 
  larvae 
  ; 
  one 
  about 
  four 
  

   inches 
  from 
  the 
  top 
  had 
  entered 
  at 
  the 
  point 
  where 
  a 
  leaf 
  left 
  the 
  stem 
  ; 
  

   a 
  narrow 
  tunnel 
  led 
  to 
  the 
  centre 
  of 
  the 
  stem, 
  which 
  was 
  hollowed 
  out 
  

   and 
  much 
  stained, 
  and 
  in 
  this 
  was 
  a 
  larva 
  between 
  4mm. 
  and 
  5mm. 
  in 
  

   length. 
  A 
  second 
  had 
  bored 
  into 
  the 
  growing 
  point 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  stem, 
  

   and 
  had 
  hollowed 
  out 
  a 
  chamber 
  of 
  some 
  8mm. 
  in 
  length, 
  which 
  was 
  

   also 
  stained 
  brown, 
  and 
  in 
  this 
  was 
  a 
  rather 
  smaller 
  larva, 
  4mm. 
  in 
  

   length, 
  within 
  3mm. 
  or 
  4mm. 
  of 
  the 
  evident 
  point 
  of 
  entry, 
  which 
  one 
  

   would 
  suspect, 
  by 
  the 
  appearance 
  of 
  the 
  point 
  and 
  the 
  small 
  quantity 
  

   of 
  material 
  eaten, 
  had 
  taken 
  place 
  not 
  more 
  than 
  five 
  or 
  six 
  days, 
  at 
  

   most, 
  previously. 
  The 
  other 
  plants 
  examined 
  led 
  one 
  to 
  suppose 
  that 
  

   the 
  lowest 
  hollows 
  may 
  have 
  been 
  formed 
  in 
  the 
  autumn, 
  and 
  that 
  

   the 
  larvae 
  hybernate 
  whilst 
  exceedingly 
  small, 
  in 
  a 
  tiny 
  hollow 
  in 
  the 
  root- 
  

   stock 
  near 
  the 
  point 
  of 
  a 
  bud, 
  i.e., 
  from 
  which 
  a 
  stem 
  will 
  spring 
  the 
  

   succeeding 
  year 
  (Tutt). 
  Ovenden 
  writes 
  (in 
  lift.) 
  that 
  the 
  young 
  larva- 
  

   of 
  (J. 
  pallid 
  actijla 
  (observed 
  May 
  15th, 
  1904) 
  appear, 
  when 
  very 
  young, 
  to 
  

   mine 
  into 
  the 
  rising 
  flower-stalk, 
  feeding 
  much 
  like 
  /'. 
  (lonodactyla. 
  

   eiitering 
  sometimes 
  near 
  the 
  root; 
  when, 
  however, 
  the 
  flower-stalk 
  is 
  

  

  