12 
Psyche 
[February 
Social tendencies are revealed not only by the Perga larvae 
and pupae, but also in the extraordinary protection of the young 
larvae by the mother saw-fly. Lewis (1836) long ago described 
this behavior in P. lewisi Westwood of Tasmania, and Froggatt 
(1901), who says that this is ‘^the commonest sawfly about 
Sydney on bloodwood” {Eucalyptus corymbosa), records his own 
observations as follows: ‘^The female makes a double slit on the 
upper surface of the leaf generally among the young growth, in 
which she inserts a double row of elongate eggs, which, as they 
swell form a regular blister, but the most remarkable fact in the 
life history of this insect is the care she takes after laying her 
eggs. Nearly all insects after the eggs are laid leave them to 
their fate, but Lewis’ saw-fly not only stands guard over them 
until they are hatched but further looks after the helpless grubs 
for some time after they have commenced feeding. She straddles 
the eggs with her wings half opened, the tip of her abdomen turned 
up, and with her jaws open, makes a slight buzzing sound if 
meddled with; if you pick her up, she never attempts to fly, but 
crawls back to her post, reminding one of an old hen protecting 
her chicks. The grubs when full grown are slightly under 13^2 
inches in length, general colour dull brown to dirty yellow, cover- 
ed with short brown hairs, the last abdominal segment yellow. 
When full grown they crawl into the ground and form the typical 
form of cocoon, generally in regular rows.” 
LITERATURE. 
1836. Lewis, R. H. Case of Maternal Attendance on the Larva 
by an Insect of the Tribe of Terebrantia, belonging 
to the genus Perga, observed at Hobarton, Tasmania. 
Trans. Ent. Soc. London 1, 1836, pp. 232-234. 
1891. Froggatt, W. W. Notes on the Life-history of Certain 
Saw-flies (Genus Perga) with Description of a New 
Species. Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales 5, 
1891, pp. 283-288. 
