296 General Notes., [March, 
half-grown they occasionally collect around the main stem ofthe 
twig in singular clumps or clusters, the hinder part of the body 
curled over their backs, and, owing to their oblique posture in 
reference to one another, appearing like a ball of worms. This 
singular appearance was briefly noticed by Ratzeburg. The cast 
ings or excrement are long, cylindrical, more or less truncated a 
each end. Our saw-fly differs slightly, as has been described, 
from the German in the eggs being laid at the base of the leaves 
on the newly-grown shoots, rather than on or just under 
epidermis of the last year’s shoots, where we have repeatedly and 
in vain searched for them. The larva were observed to hatch 
out from June 20 to 30 at Brunswick, Me. 
The worms appear to attain their full size in about five to seve? 
days after hatching; certainly less than or not more than ten 
days. There appear to be but three molts or changes of skin, 
i. e., four stages ofthe larva. In casting the skin the head splits 
open along the median line of the vertex, and the epicramum or 
sides of the head split apart on each side, leaving the clypeus sn 
labrum in place ; then the body is drawn out of the rent, the 
adhering to the needle or leaf —A. S. Packard, Jr. 
smaller branches and twigs of both large and small tr a eight 
The small pale-green caterpillars bite off from SIX : 
leaves, constructing a broad, flat, irregular case; ish, thts 
being separated from the twig turning red or, yo ee , 
forming a conspicuous patch. This rude case 1S he 3 feed 
with silk, the worm living in a rude silken tube, Sa witht 
upon the inside of the leaves. The length of this sb salis Ë 
which the little caterpillar finally changes to a Cug . 
from 8 to 10™ in length. hrough the moat | 
The worms are found from the first of May thro Ae z0-28th 
une I. 7 
ou 30, the mob 
making their appearance early in July. The larva Erslog | 
moth are described in the report for 1883 of the 
U. S. Department of Agriculture. -ell marked, 
The moth (Gelechia abietisella, n. sp.) is beautifully p, Withowt 
probably examples occur throughout the sumti 
doubt the eggs are laid on the twigs or leaves 10 the winter, ' 
the caterpillars become almost full-fed before the Ta , wort 
nating in their cases, becoming active in the spring. ee with 0% 
are preyed upon by an ichneumon, the ova sae dy to ims" 
pupa which had recently transformed, and anote g P 
nate, occurring in the cases June gth —A. S. Packart 
