﻿OXYPTILUS 
  PAKVIDACTYLA. 
  423 
  

  

  July 
  14th. 
  — 
  No. 
  3 
  in 
  heart 
  of 
  new 
  plant, 
  burrowing, 
  head 
  downwards, 
  under 
  a 
  

   covering 
  of 
  silk, 
  Hieracium 
  hairs, 
  and 
  d£bris, 
  i.e., 
  bits 
  bitten 
  off 
  the 
  plant. 
  

  

  July 
  13th. 
  — 
  No. 
  5 
  larva. 
  The 
  eggshell 
  is 
  empty. 
  Larva 
  invisible. 
  Later, 
  

   found 
  it 
  on 
  the 
  underside 
  of 
  a 
  lower 
  leaf, 
  but 
  lost 
  it 
  while 
  endeavouring 
  to 
  transfer 
  

   it 
  to 
  the 
  heart 
  of 
  the 
  plant. 
  

  

  July 
  14th. 
  — 
  No. 
  5 
  feeding 
  in 
  heart 
  of 
  plant, 
  to 
  which 
  it 
  has 
  found 
  its 
  way 
  

   since 
  yesterday. 
  

  

  July 
  27th. 
  — 
  The 
  plant 
  in 
  which 
  larva 
  No. 
  4 
  was 
  living 
  is 
  dying, 
  and 
  I 
  found 
  

   the 
  larva 
  wandering 
  over 
  a 
  leaf, 
  evidently 
  seeking 
  a 
  new 
  plant. 
  

  

  Like 
  most 
  larvae, 
  these, 
  when 
  crawling, 
  always 
  spun 
  a 
  thread 
  along 
  

   which 
  they 
  could 
  walk 
  in 
  safety. 
  As 
  they 
  walk, 
  the 
  head 
  is 
  moved 
  

   from 
  side 
  to 
  side, 
  and 
  thus 
  a 
  sort 
  of 
  silk 
  ladder 
  is 
  formed. 
  The 
  line 
  

   thus 
  traced 
  by 
  the 
  spinneret 
  generally 
  contains 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  irregular 
  

   figures 
  of 
  8 
  and 
  letters 
  U 
  (Sich). 
  A 
  larva 
  left 
  the 
  egg 
  on 
  July 
  6th, 
  1905, 
  

   at 
  9.30 
  a.m., 
  and 
  commenced 
  to 
  wander 
  over 
  the 
  top 
  of 
  the 
  leaf, 
  shortly 
  

   turning 
  basewards, 
  and 
  then, 
  reaching 
  an 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  leaf, 
  went 
  beneath 
  

   it 
  ; 
  then 
  it 
  travelled 
  towards 
  the 
  tip, 
  the 
  leaf 
  being 
  a 
  quite 
  mature 
  one 
  ; 
  at 
  

   11 
  a.m., 
  the 
  larva 
  was 
  found 
  after 
  some 
  search, 
  apparently 
  resting 
  

   satisfied 
  amongst 
  the 
  hairs 
  close 
  to 
  the 
  base, 
  on 
  the 
  upper 
  surface 
  of 
  a 
  

   rather 
  younger 
  leaf, 
  really 
  quite 
  in 
  the 
  centre 
  of 
  the 
  plant; 
  it 
  was 
  in 
  

   the 
  same 
  position 
  at 
  12 
  (noon), 
  but 
  at 
  1.20 
  p.m. 
  could 
  not 
  be 
  found 
  ; 
  

   it 
  was 
  certainly 
  not 
  on 
  either 
  surface 
  of 
  a 
  leaf, 
  nor 
  in 
  any 
  easily 
  seen 
  

   axillary 
  position 
  (Chapman, 
  July 
  6th, 
  1905). 
  Another 
  larva, 
  hatched 
  

   July 
  12th, 
  was 
  isolated 
  in 
  a 
  glass-tube 
  on 
  a 
  leaf 
  of 
  its 
  foodplant. 
  

   When 
  it 
  hatched, 
  it 
  crawled 
  about 
  the 
  leaf, 
  and 
  then 
  was 
  observed 
  at 
  the 
  

   cut 
  base 
  of 
  the 
  leaf, 
  where 
  it 
  was 
  seen 
  several 
  times 
  at 
  a 
  few 
  hours' 
  

   interval 
  ; 
  it 
  then 
  wandered 
  off 
  on 
  the 
  glass 
  of 
  the 
  tube. 
  The 
  leaf 
  was 
  

   a 
  fresh 
  one, 
  put 
  in 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  placing 
  the 
  egg 
  in 
  the 
  tube. 
  The 
  

   larva 
  was 
  then 
  preserved, 
  July 
  15th, 
  1905, 
  on 
  a 
  slide 
  in 
  Farren's 
  

   medium. 
  Jt 
  was 
  then 
  seen 
  that 
  the 
  impression 
  that 
  it 
  had 
  eaten 
  nothing 
  

   was 
  correct, 
  although 
  it 
  was 
  left 
  two 
  days 
  in 
  the 
  tube 
  (Chapman). 
  

   On 
  April 
  27th, 
  1906, 
  I 
  observed 
  a 
  patch 
  of 
  Hieracium 
  amongst 
  some 
  

   fir-trees, 
  near 
  Guene 
  Vieille 
  (two 
  miles 
  from 
  Ste. 
  Maxime); 
  the 
  plant 
  was 
  

   very 
  like 
  my 
  idea 
  of 
  H. 
  pilosella, 
  only 
  the 
  leaves 
  (and 
  the 
  whole 
  plant) 
  

   are 
  very 
  decidedly 
  larger 
  than 
  those 
  of 
  that 
  species 
  ordinarily 
  are 
  in 
  

   England. 
  The 
  hairs 
  on 
  the 
  leaves 
  rather 
  larger 
  and 
  stronger, 
  white. 
  

   The 
  flower-bud 
  just 
  discoverable, 
  2mm. 
  or 
  3mm. 
  across 
  in 
  the 
  centres 
  

   of 
  the 
  most 
  forward 
  plants. 
  On 
  one 
  of 
  these 
  I 
  found 
  a 
  "plume" 
  larva, 
  

   but 
  a 
  long 
  search, 
  and 
  destruction 
  of 
  a 
  good 
  many 
  plants, 
  afforded 
  no 
  

   more. 
  Something 
  suspicious 
  about 
  the 
  centre 
  of 
  the 
  plant 
  attracted 
  

   attention 
  to 
  it, 
  and, 
  pulling 
  the 
  youngest 
  central 
  leaf 
  (about 
  fin. 
  long), 
  

   it 
  came 
  away 
  too 
  readily. 
  A 
  closer 
  look 
  now 
  showed 
  a 
  larva 
  in 
  the 
  

   centre 
  of 
  the 
  plant, 
  under 
  a 
  sort 
  of 
  cocoon 
  or 
  tent. 
  The 
  larva 
  was 
  

   thick, 
  short, 
  stubby, 
  and 
  white, 
  and 
  much 
  resembled 
  a 
  larva 
  of 
  some 
  

   weevil. 
  It 
  was, 
  however, 
  lepidopterous; 
  it 
  had 
  eaten 
  the 
  little 
  central 
  

   button, 
  or 
  heart, 
  of 
  the 
  plant, 
  and 
  was 
  continuing 
  its 
  attack 
  on 
  the 
  

   central 
  pith 
  below. 
  The 
  "cocoon 
  " 
  was 
  merely 
  a 
  slight 
  felting 
  of 
  the 
  

   white 
  hairs 
  of 
  the 
  central 
  parts 
  eaten, 
  to 
  a 
  great 
  extent 
  leaving 
  them 
  

   where 
  they 
  would 
  have 
  been, 
  had 
  they 
  been 
  still 
  attached 
  to 
  the 
  young 
  

   leaves 
  and 
  leaf-buds 
  from 
  the 
  central 
  eye 
  of 
  the 
  plant. 
  Those, 
  however, 
  

   had 
  disappeared, 
  and 
  the 
  cavity 
  so 
  left 
  was 
  occupied 
  by 
  the 
  larva. 
  No 
  

   other 
  trace 
  of 
  larval 
  attack 
  was 
  discovered 
  on 
  this 
  or 
  neighbouring 
  

   plants. 
  The 
  larva 
  itself 
  is 
  a, 
  white 
  lethargic 
  maggot, 
  more 
  like 
  a 
  

   coleopterous 
  than 
  lepidopterous 
  larva 
  in 
  general 
  aspect. 
  Its 
  method 
  of 
  

  

  