Kew : Weevtl-Cocoons of the Fig-worts. 



vegetable tissues, as are so many Weevil-larva?, but live like 

 caterpillars on the external surfaces of plants; and their bodies 

 are varnished with a layer of mucus which is excreted by an 

 anal nipple. Confining* our attention to Cionus scrophularice, 

 we find that the little larva is slug-like and excessively slimy. 

 It lives on the flowering- spikes of the Fig-worts, on the small upper 

 leaves, and among- the buds, flowers, and young seed-vessels. 

 It moves in a more or less caterpillar-like fashion, by means of 

 ventral fleshy foot-like prominences, and according- to authors 

 it is helped to retain its position by its viscous mucus. This is 

 "probably true, but the mucus is not of a locomotor) 7 character 

 like that of slug's, planarians, nemertines, etc. ; the larva does 

 not creep over a film of it, and thus, unlike the animals just 

 mentioned, it does not leave a slime-trail in its path. When 

 the larva is touched, and the fing-er slowly removed, the slime is 

 drawn out into a very fine thread, which may attain a length of 

 one or two inches before breaking*. Exposed to the scorching- 

 rays of the mid-summer sun, and to the heavy dews and rains of 

 that season, the larva doubtless requires its slimy-coat for 

 protection ; but it does not effectually protect the animal, as one 

 might suppose would be the case, from the attacks of parasitic 

 Hymenoptera, for several of my Hampstead specimens were 

 ichneumonised, numbers of a small Hymenopteron emerging* 

 from the cocoon in place of the Weevil. Of two cocoons which 

 I opened, one contained six and the other eight pupae of the 

 parasite ; these were closely placed within the Cionus-cocoous, 

 and were naked, having* no cocoons of their own. The nipple 

 which excretes the mucus is found at the base of the upper side 

 of the anal seg-ment of the larva; and, according- to Perris, who 

 has studied several species of Cionus, it is hidden in the tissues, 

 but capable of protrusion ; and the secretion, which is emitted 

 on the preceding- seg-ment, gradually finds its way to all parts 

 of the body. 



The cocoons of both Hypera and Cionus are affixed to the 

 plants on which the larvae feed, and are notable from the fact 

 that cocoons thus exposed are rare among- Coleoptera ; and 

 they are further interesting* from exhibiting, under certain 

 circumstances, a striking; protective resemblance to the objects 

 among* which they are placed. Those of Hypera are beautiful 

 g'auze-like structures, composed of threads of silk-like appear- 

 ance, white, yellow, golden, or reddish in colour, and disposed 

 in a single layer of network, generally with open meshes, 

 through which the exceedingly agile pupa can easily be seen. 



Naturalist, 



