58 ENDOTRICHA FLAMMEAL1S. 



a dozen of them being laid deep among the long hairs 

 in the axils of the flower and stalk of Lotus major, 

 fourteen on leaves of Gorylus avellana, five on a spray 

 of Mel ampy rum prat ens e, and one on a leaf of sallow. 



The esfo^s hatched in the morning of the 7th of 

 August, and the young larvaa were supplied with 

 leaves of all the above mentioned and a tender young 

 leaf of oak in addition ; at the end of three days the 

 softest of the hazel leaves showed a decided preference 

 had been given to them by the tiny larvae, though the 

 Lotus had also been eaten ; but of the other leaves only 

 the oak showed any trace of attack, and in so slight 

 a manner that it was not tried aeain for some time. 



At the end of a week many were laid up for their 

 first moult, and this operation was not completed 

 until the 17th, when the needful changing of food 

 became a hazardous piece of work, and proved fatal 

 to a few of the larvae. 



Two individuals more forward than the others got 

 over their second moult on the 26th, while their 

 companions lay waiting for their turn, and by the time 

 they had completed their change of skin I became 

 unpleasantly aware of having no more than eight 

 larvae in all remaining. 



The third moult happened with one larva on the 

 8th of September, and to the remainder on the 11th 

 to the 13th, and while changing their food next day 

 my long growing suspicion of cannibalism was verified, 

 — for, just as on previous occasions, another larva 

 was missing, and on my scrutinising what seemed a 

 cast skin, it proved too surely to be the remains of a 

 larva, in great part devoured, and I had no doubt of 

 the culprit being that one which had moulted soonest, 

 it having slain its victim while helplessly laid up. 



Hitherto, while changing food, I had occasionally 

 noticed a dead larva in a suspicious condition, but 

 thev were too few to account for the number of 

 mysterious disappearances which began after the 

 first moulting and continued at intervals; their pro- 



