STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
789 
UIDGE. LARVA. THE QUIESCENT LARVA. 
letter Y, and sometimes it is parted its whole length, like the 
letter V. This is the two jaws of the larva as they are more or 
less opened apart. They are movable, backward and forward, 
and I have sometimes seen them when they were advanced to the 
very point of the fore end, where there is a small round orifice 
or mouth. And seeing this structure and its motions, leads me 
to think this mouth is applied to the surface of the soft young 
kernel, and these minute jaws then move forward and puncture 
or scratch the surface, whereupon the mouth sucks in the milky 
juice which, flows from the wound. But the wounds thus made 
are so extremely slight that nothing like a gnawing or erosion of 
the surface of the kernel is ever perceptible. 
When the young larvas are grown to double their original size, 
and measure about 0.02 in length, a yellow cloudiness begins to 
be perceptible in the centre of their watery whitish bodies. This 
yellowness gradually becomes more bright and distinct, often 
appearing as a band across the middle. And when the worm is 
about a third grown it has changed to be wholly of a bright yel¬ 
low color, and is now usually withdrawn farther up upon the 
kernel, as its larger size requires more room. It now has the 
color and form which it afterwards retains. 
On taking one of the largest larvae which we find in the wheat 
ears and laying it upon paper for examination, it is usually 
quiescent and motionless, and appears as represented, plate ii, 
fig. 11, its natural size being indicated at a. 
Tho quiescent larva, as thus seen, is about throe times as long as broad, measuring 
0.08 by 0.03, and is oval, thickest in the middle and slightly tapering in each direction, the 
ends being rounded or but faintly angular-pointed. It is slightly depressed and on the under 
side very perceptibly flattened, but with no indications of feet. Its surface is minutely gra¬ 
nular, like that of the conjmon earth worm of our gardens, and also appears to be slightly 
coated over with a glutinous secretion, whereby it adheres to a needle which touches it, and 
often when two or more worms are placed in contact they in drying become glued to eneh 
other. Its joints arc indicated by very tine impressed transverse lines, whereby it is divided 
into ten or twelve segments of equal length, except at the ends where it is difficult to defi¬ 
nitely distinguish them. It is of a rich yellow color, varying in different individuals from 
lemon to orange yello^v; and usually a small greenish or blackish cloud is scon placed length¬ 
wise in the middle of the body on its under side, which is ovidontly caused by internal 
alimentary matter. 
Dropped into alcohol it sinks at onco to the bottom, elongates itself and tries to crawl. It 
then appears hyaline whitish, with a broad yellow stripo along the middle. 
It the quiescent larva above described be placed iu a small 
drop of water upon glass or any other smooth surface, it im¬ 
mediately awakes from its seeming sleep, and protruding its 
head and horns, it commences crawling, by alternately contract- 
