Zoology.] NATURAL HISTORY OF VICTORIA. [Insects. 



Gum-trees, but are also common on many others of the most diverse 

 botanical characters. At least ten thousand of this species can be 

 found to one of any of the other of the Case-Moths or House- 

 builder Moths as they are often called. The name Lictor-Moth is 

 suggested by the resemblance of the case to the fasces or bundles 

 of rods borne by the Lictors of old before the Roman magistrates. 



All the summer the larvae are found feeding. The smaller cases, 

 which belong to the males, are often seen to have the empty pupa 

 case sticking rather more than half out of the posterior tubular 

 aperture, beyond the bundle of sticks, hanging head downwards. 

 From the larger female cases, in February, multitudes of young 

 larvae, about 1 line in length, may be seen descending by long 

 slender threads of silk emitted from the lower lip, thus escaping 

 from the lower tubular aperture of the case, and reaching some 

 twig or leaf of the tree. They immediately begin to spin a silk-case 

 for themselves, fastening grains of wood or bark into its outer 

 surface ; the young larvae have only this flexible covering until a 

 considerable size is obtained, when the larva chooses and cuts about 

 one inch in length of a slender bit of straight twig, fastening one 

 end of it to the case, then another, and so on until the ordinary 

 number of rods are strung by the upper end round the case ; these 

 are ultimately fastened in the whole length as the larva reaches the 

 full size. The perfect insects have not been figured before, and 

 are surprisingly difficult to procure, owing to the destructive effects 

 of the attacks on the larvae of several species of Ichneumon and 

 Dipterous parasitic Flies. 



Explanation of Fiodrkb. 



Plate 40. — Fig 7, male, natural size. Fig. 8, larva and case of female, natural size. Fig. 9, 

 cise of male with empty pupa (sticking out), from which the perfect moth has emerged, natural 

 size. Fig. 10, case of adult perfect female, with strings of young larvae escaping. Fig. 11, adult 

 perfect female, natural size. Fig. 12, female pupa, natural size. Fig. 13, male pupa, natural 

 size. Fig. 14, anterior wing, magnified, showing the different veins numhered as in the preceding 

 species. Fig. 15, hinder wing, showing veins and the long bristle from base of anterior border 

 to connect with loop of anterior wing. Fig. 16, one of the antennae, magnified to show the 

 number and gradual diminution towards apex of the pectinations. 



The branch (y), which is assumed in this genus to be absent, is, on one side of the specimen 

 figured on our plate, extended half way from the disc to the margin. 



Frederick McCoy. 



By Authority : John Ferkes, Government Printer. 



r 46 i 



