THE  GALLS  OF  A  PLANT  NEAR  TO  MONTE  VIDEO. 
313 
Cecidoses  Eremita. 
Cec.  cinereus ;  alis  anticis  saturate  brunneo  maculatis,  dense  ciliatis ;  posticis  albidis. 
Hob.  prope  Monte  Video.    Pupa  in  gallis  Celastri  ?  abscondita. 
From  the  stoutness  of  the  body  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  this  moth  is  one  of  the 
Tortricida,  but  it  may  perhaps  belong  to  the  family  of  Pyralidcs  or  to  that  of  Crambidee  ; 
if  so,  however,  one  would  expect  to  find  the  palpi  more  strongly  developed,  but  I  have 
not  been  able  to  discover  either  them  or  the  maxilla.  Although  not  analogous  in  its 
oeconomy,  it  may  be  here  remarked  that  the  maggot  so  often  met  with  in  apples  is 
one  of  the  Tortricidee^ ,  and  that  there  are  many  of  the  TineidcB"^  that  feed  only  on  the 
parenchyma  of  plants. 
The  recorded  instance  of  a  similar  occurrence  to  which  I  have  referred  above  is  that 
of  an  insect  described  and  figured  by  Reaumur^,  which  evidently  belongs  to  the  same 
group  as  the  Cec.  Eremita.  This  may  be  regarded  as  a  most  interesting  coincidence, 
because  Reaumur's  insect  was  a  native  of  the  Isle  of  Cyprus.  It  differs,  however,  from 
the  South  American  one  in  some  material  points,  which  I  shall  briefly  notice. 
Reaumur's  insect  formed  galls,  on  what  he  terms  a  species  of  Limonium,  about  the 
size  of  those  of  Cec.  Eremita ;  but  although  they  have  a  sort  of  little  head  or  crown 
opposite  to  the  stalk,  no  mention  is  made  of  an  operculum.  In  his  Figure  1 .  a  circular 
space  is  marked,  and  there  is  either  a  small  excrescence  in  the  centre,  or  the  pupa  is 
represented  sticking  out.  This  acute  observer  never  saw  the  caterpillar  alive,  but  he 
has  no  doubt  of  its  piercing  the  gall  to  allow  of  the  subsequent  escape  of  the  moth. 
The  caterpillars  spin  a  cocoon  of  white  and  shining  silk,  which  occupied  the  inside  of 
the  galls,  and  formed  a  beak  that  entered  the  outlet.  It  appears  to  be  a  larger  insect 
than  ours  ;  and  it  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  in  more  than  three  fourths  of  the  galls  silk 
was  discovered,  formed  by  the  larvce  of  other  insects  which  had  devoured  the  cater- 
pillars of  the  moth. 
This  circumstance  gives  rise  to  another  question,  namely,  Are  the  insects  of  temperate 
climates  more  subject  to  the  attacks  of  parasites  than  those  inhabiting  more  tropical 
regions  ;  or  were  the  Oriental  galls  so  frequently  infested  owing  to  the  pupcs  being  only 
protected  by  a  cocoon  at  the  outlet,  rendering  the  ingress  of  parasitic  insects  more  easy 
than  in  the  others,  which  were  completely  inclosed  and  protected  by  the  gall  ?  This, 
however,  not  forming  a  part  of  our  present  inquiry,  may  be  deferred  for  future  dis- 
cussion. I  shall  therefore  only  add,  that  I  found  nothing  but  perfect  chrysalides  in  all 
the  galls  that  I  had  an  opportunity  of  examining,  which  amounted  to  six  or  seven,  from 
the  liberahty  with  which  I  was  supplied  with  additional  specimens  by  A.  B.  Lambert, 
Esq.,  during  my  investigations. 
'  Tinea  Pomonella,  Linn.  Gracillaria  anastomosis,  (Curt.,  Brit.  Ent.,  vol.  x.  pi.  479,)  &c. 
'  M6m.  pour  servir  k  I'Hist.  des  Ins.,  torn.  iii.  p.  448.  pi.  39.  f.  1-4. 
