82 £akaponyx stratiotata. 



Another spun two stems to the side of its bottle in 

 nearly a vertical position, about half an inch apart, 

 and spread its web from one stern to the other, and 

 upon the glass of the sides of the bottle, leaving an 

 opening below half an inch from the bottom of the 

 water, the top of the web being about the same 

 distance from the top of the water ; this larva con- 

 tinued to live in a position perpendicular to the 

 bottom of the bottle, and eventually drew the stems 

 of its food closer together, and spun itself up in a 

 cocoon between them on the 25th of July. 



The fifth larva, which was smaller than the others, 

 spun a squarish web for itself in the midst of three 

 pieces of the waterweed, and when other pieces were 

 supplied spun a fresh web amongst them. 



I soon found that these larvae in the bottles, as well 

 as those in the globe, preferred to live at some depth 

 in the water, not one of them choosing to reside at 

 the surface ; each larva in the globe spun a web for 

 itself, either a kind of open tent or a short gallery, 

 and the form varied with its surrounding circum- 

 stances, but it was invariably fastened to the food- 

 plant, and occasionally to the glass also ; one larva, I 

 noticed, often cut off leaves from the stem of its food, 

 and then attached them to the silken wall of its 

 dwelling. 



I now come to mention the peculiar habit of this 

 larva, which I watched with extreme interest during 

 many months. 



Night and day, at intervals varying from one to 

 three minutes apart, the larva, holding to its web by 

 the anal legs, rapidly undulates its body upwards and 

 forwards with considerable vigour and energy, while 

 the three hinder segments appear motionless ; this 

 intermittent movement lasts about twenty-one se- 

 conds at a time, and is followed by a period of rest ; 

 longer, that is for two or three minutes, when the 

 larva is quiet ; and shorter when it is feeding, at such 

 times not exceeding one minute. That this energetic 



