HOMCEOSOMA BINJJVELLA. 223 



open, and then saw that the larva had died without 

 having changed to a pupa. But Mr. Barrett suc- 

 ceeded in breeding from the larvas he had kept for 

 himself several specimens of Homoeosoma binsevella = 

 eluviella. 



On the 24th of August, 1878, Mr. Barrett sent me 

 three more larvae in heads of Garduus lanceolatus, of 

 which I took my figure 30 of 1878. It tunnels out 

 quite a large hole from the base of the head into the 

 top of the stem. (William Buckler, 24th August, 

 1878; Note Book III, 24.) 



The larva of Homoeosoma binsevella is to be found in 

 the middle of August in the flower- and seed-heads of 

 Garduus lanceolatus, eating the young seeds and 

 excavating a large cavity in the solid substance at the 

 base of the flower-head, in which cavity it lives. 

 When full-fed it leaves the head and spins a tough 

 brown cocoon among rubbish, in which (like the 

 allied species) it remains unchanged through the 

 winter and spring. Several of the moths emerged in 

 the third week in July. 



This larva is stout, more particularly at the poste- 

 rior extremity, very pretty, pale green, paler beneath, 

 with pink dorsal and subdorsal stripes, the spiracular 

 stripe also pink but interrupted, each segment deeply 

 wrinkled below the spiracles. The head is bright 

 chestnut, the dorsal plate greenish in front, pale 

 brown behind, and the anal plate blackish. 



But here, again, is a discrepancy. 



Hofmann quotes Von Hornig's description of the 

 larva of binasvella H.-S. : — " Dirty reddish-grey, with 

 dark brown dorsal stripe, two small black dots on 

 each segment, and interrupted dark brown longi- 

 tudinal stripes. Head dark brown, the dorsal plate 

 somewhat darker, divided by a paler line. In May 

 and June, in the heads of Garduus acanthoides." 



Clearly we have more to learn about this species ! 

 (C. G. Barrett, 8th October, 1878; E.M.M., January, 

 1879, XV, 181.) 



