5540 Insects. 



assumed a great deal too much, and that my explanation of how the females get out 

 of their eases is satisfactory, to a certain extent, but that I do not state how the 

 opening in the case by which they drop out is made : he asks, " When do they make 

 it, and for what purpose?" I proceed to give a short account of this curious female: 

 I commence at the time the larva is full-fed : it then finds a suitable locality for fixing 

 the case ; and now that end of the case that was formerly the aperture for the head 

 and legs, for the convenience of feeding and crawling about, being no longer wanted 

 open, the larva spins up that end and turns round in the case; in fact, the case 

 becomes inverted, and the larva sets that end of the case in proper order for use, 

 forming another aperture, and that end of the case is lengthened, in the shape of a 

 funnel, it being made soft and elastic, but the end is not quite open till after the 

 female has burst from the pupa. The pupa of the female is thin and pliable, unlike 

 the pupa of the male, and with energetic twists of its body it is enabled to go up and 

 down its gauze-like funnel with astonishing rapidity : the funnel serves for a wealher- 

 guage for both male and female ; it serves for the female both in the pupa and perfect 

 states, but for the male only in the pupa state. The female moves up to the top of 

 the funnel when in pupa, and if the sun shines and the time has arrived for assuming 

 the imago, it liberates itself from the case, and just thrusts its head out at the end of 

 the funnel, and there awaits the arrival of the male until night comes on, or the sun 

 is clouded, or it is disturbed : in either of these cases it will move down to what is now 

 the bottom of the case; next day, if all is right, it will be at the top of the funnel 

 again, and until the male finds her; when he has arrived, she goes down the case and 

 raises the lower extremity of her body. The body of the male is somewhat similar to a 

 telescope; it lengthens out between every joint or segment: the male introduces his 

 body into the funnel, and copulation takes place: afterwards the female remains out 

 of sight, laying her eggs, which are covered with a glutinous moisture, within the 

 case ; she then falls through the aperture of the funnel, which opens downwards. The 

 funnel of the male is considerably longer than that of the female. It is truly astonishing 

 how fast the pupee will travel up and down their funnels; they ascend occasionally to 

 ascertain if the sun is shining, and if not they will not burst the pupa-case, as 

 they fly only in the sunshine : they will thrust the pupa one half out, and more if 

 it pleases them to come out and leave it. — Richard Weaver; 25, Pershore Street, 

 Birmingham. 



Cases of a supposed new Psyche found on Rocks near Conway. — Last summer, 

 when collecting in North Wales, I found several small cases on the rocks near Con- 

 way that were entirely new to me: they were covered with lichen, on which very 

 probably the larvae feed; the cases are round and a little curved, and much longer at 

 one end than at the other. A question at once arises, To what insect do these cases 

 belong? A close inspection shows them to be Lepidopterous. I sent some of them 

 to an entomological friend : his answer was, " Your case-bearers are, to the best of our 

 knowledge, not Lepidopterous.'' But, shortly after that, I received a second letter 

 from the same friend, saying, " I am happy to inform you that your case-bearers have 

 produced Lepidopterous insects ; but the specimens are all wingless females, so that 

 he must indeed be clever who can say what they are." The female bears a close 

 resemblance to the wingless female of Solenobia inconspicuella ; but the cases of the 

 two species differ in shape very widely. Entomologists who may be going to Conway 

 will do well to keep a sharp look-out for the male, and to ascertain its name. — Id.; 

 February 5, 1857. 



