PTELI0P1I0RUS ISODACTVLUS. 345 



whole of them were cut down. This was discouraging 

 enough, as the eggs had not had time to hatch, and 

 must have been nearly all destroyed, whereas, had the 

 larvae been feeding, some of them would have been 

 sure to find their way from the withering plants to 

 portions which remained growing. 



But, not to be beaten without an effort, I went to 

 work on the 10th of August, and after a long search 

 found one larva mining a shoot of the ragwort, and 

 sent it at once to Mr. Buckler. A fortnight later, I 

 found several larva?, and a few pupae, from which the 

 moths began to emerge on the 20th of August. 



The larva of the second brood, when young, mines 

 one of the smaller shoots of Senecio aquaticus near 

 the buds; afterwards it crawls further down, entering 

 one of the larger branches at the axil of a leaf 

 (frequently devouring the tender side shoot), and 

 bores down the interior, feeding on the pith till 

 nearly full-grown, when it again deserts its burrow, 

 and proceeds to the thick main stem of the plant, 

 which it enters, and there feeds up, hollowing out a 

 space in which to assume the pupa state. In every 

 case a round hole is left for the extrusion of excre- 

 ment, and in the final burrow this is placed exactly 

 against the head of the pupa, so that there is no 

 difficulty about the egress of the perfect insect. 



The pupa is angular and destitute of hairs, like 

 those of the allied species, P. trigonodactylus, P. 

 ochrodactyluSi etc., but lies perfectly free in the 

 burrow, the anal segment not being attached to the 

 usual button of silk. 



The larvae of the first brood must feed in May, in 

 the young shoots, then just beginning to grow; the 

 perfect insect appears in the latter part of June, and 

 again in August and September. 



The diversity in the habits of the larvae and pupae 

 of the Pterophoridx is very great. P. ochrodactt/lus 

 (bertrami) devours the hearts of the shoots of Achillea 

 ptarmica and A. millefolium, eating down into the 



