Micro-Lejpidojptera. 5 



wonder it eats so much ; in twelve hours it ate the weight of 

 its own body ; as if a man should in the same time demolish 

 thirty four-pound loaves of bread ! 



But lest some matter-of-fact reader should consider this 

 formation of a case at the edge of a leaf as a mere routine of 

 instinct, let us see how Reaumur tested the resources of one 

 of the same Limosvpennella. 



He did as I have done, turned one out to make a new case, 

 but when the excavation was complete he cut off the teeth of the 

 leaf. The two membranes flew apart, and the little larva seemed 

 to be surprised and troubled ; after a little hesitation apparently 

 it saw the remedy, turned itself about, and threw a few threads 

 from side to side, pulled them close and joined the rent. 

 Then, as if considering that a like misfortune might happen 

 again, before proceeding in the work of mining necessary for 

 a full-sized case, it darkened the interior of the mine with a 

 regular silken tube, which it left to continue and mine in a 

 curve directly down the leaf and across the fibres. Now and 

 then it returned to the tube, and lengthened and strengthened 

 that; yet with strange forethought the case was not woven 

 throughout — not at all ; one side was merely tacked together 

 and spaces left by which the larva could put out its head and 

 cut the leaf between the fibres which now supported the case 

 (fig. 8) . Yet somehow perceiving that from the cutting away 

 of the edge the natural curve was destroyed, the larva actually 

 changed the aperture from one end to the opposite, in order to 

 obtain the proper and convenient shape. At last, after two 

 days' hard work, the tent was finished, and the thoughtful, 

 patient little architect went on its way towards the develop- 

 ment and perfection of its being. 



The Coleophora Vitella, whose case is figured (2), may be 

 found as early as April, having begun its case from the leaf of 

 Vaccinium vitis idcea (cranberry) in the autumn, and up to the 

 end of the month the case is being continually enlarged with 

 pieces of the mined leaf, giving it a wrinkled appearance, and 

 being paler near the mouth as fresh bits are added, and the 

 case becomes pistol-shaped. The moth comes out at the end 

 of June, and is abundant near Manchester. 



Coleophora laricella (Fig. 4 a) . — Very small is this pretty little 

 tentmaker, feeding on the tenderest shoots of the larch in early 

 spring time. It was hatched in the autumn, and mining a 

 slender leaf it cut it off and hoisted it as a tent for its shelter 

 and defence, remaining asleep in it all the winter, and with the 

 first warmth of April, and with the cuckoo's note, awakening 

 to feed on the under side of the fresh green leaves. The mine 

 is very transparent, and the proceedings of the caterpillar 

 easily observed. The moth is all one colour, a light brown 



