27 
IV. 
ON THE LARVA Of AN UNKNOWN LEPIDOPTEROUS 
INSECT, FOUND IN THE BARLEY CROP OF 18G8. 
By C. G. Barrett. 
Rfiad June 20th, 18G9. 
During the past winter my attention lias been much directed to 
the ravages of some insect in barley. 'J'he last year’s crop of that 
grain was, in consequence of the great heat of the season, exceetlingly 
hard and heavy, as well as plump and full ; but in the process of 
malting, some of these large plump grains were observed to decay, 
and become mouldy, instead of germinating ; to float on the 
surface of the water in the cistern, or even to be blo^^^l out with 
the light grains and rubbish by the blowing machine. These 
grains were found, on examination, to be perforated at the upper 
end, and bored through their entire length, but not entirely 
emptieefc An experienced brewer and maltster in this city, who 
was the first to point them out to me, assured me that the mischief 
was not the work of the com weevil (Sitophilus granariua), with 
the ravages of which he was well acquainted ; that this insect, 
when it attacked a grain, usually cleared it out, leaving only the 
husk, and that it did its work in the granaries during the winter 
and spring. The grain in question, however, had never been 
stored, but Avas brought to the malt-house directly on being 
threshed. It appears obvious, therefore, that this mischief Avas 
done either in the field or in the stack, and this Avill account for 
the fact that the perforation is in CA'ery instance at the upper end 
of the grain, and not at that AA-hich Avas attached to the ear. In 
most of these hoUoAved grains I find the perforation empty, evi- 
dently from the entrance being so Avide that any frass AA'ould be 
readily shaken out, but a feAV still contain the excrement of, to all 
appearance, a Lepidopterous larva, and in two instances I was so 
fortunate as to liud a deiAd and shrivelled larva, evidently Lepid- 
