36 
they take a somewhat sudden turn outwards, and terminate in root¬ 
like points of attachment. The segments of the thorax and abdomen 
are distinctly marked off from each other, the ninth equally so from 
the tenth. They are much flattened ventrally and flattened dorsally. 
The prothorax is wider than the head, the meso- and meta-thorax 
tapering down to meet the much narrower abdomen, which, taken 
as a whole, is decidedly spindle-shaped. The second, third, and 
fourth abdominal segments gradually increase in width, while the 
rest narrow down to the thimble-shaped tenth segment. No anal flap 
is visible, but the tenth abdominal segment shows a sulcus, which 
foreshadows the bifid termination of the later stages. In the lame of 
this stage I examined I could find no trace of legs, prolegs, nor of the 
fleshy processes which afterwards appear on certain of the segments. 
Neither could I discover a single tubercle nor bristle on any part of 
the larva, except those mentioned in describing the head. Even the 
antenme have no bristles. 
I am unable to state the duration of the egg stage, but fancy it is 
about ten days in warm weather. On hatching, the larva pierces the 
base of the eggshell and the epidermis of the leaf lying immediately 
below the eggshell. It, at the same time, begins to feed on the 
juices of the leaf, mining its way, in about two hours, under the egg¬ 
shell into the leaf, thus never coming in contact with the outer atmo¬ 
sphere. The eggshell is not eaten by the larva, neither is it filled with 
excrement, like that of a Nepticulid. It therefore collapses after a time, 
but generally remains adherent to the leaf, and its oval outline may 
usually be traced even in quite old mines. Heeger makes the curious 
statement that the larva comes out of the egg, and, after harden¬ 
ing itself in the air, enters the leaf. Possibly he noticed that the leaf 
cuticle in front of the egg was often broken, and imagined the larva 
entered there. For the next two or three days the larva has nothing 
to do but to eat, or, more properly speaking, to drink up the juice 
which it liberates from the leaf cells. To obtain sufficient juice for 
its requirements during this time it has to mine a space about two 
inches long by inch wide. By the time this is accomplished the 
larva has much altered in shape, owing to the thorax, which in the 
egg was laterally compressed, developing to a width of at least three 
times that of the head. The mesothorax is now the widest part of 
the larva. The first abdominal segment is still very narrow, and the 
tenth retains much of its former size. In profile the thorax forms a 
kind of hump, and the abdominal segments gradually taper away. 
The head, remaining its old size, does not any longer appear so dis¬ 
proportionately large. The little larva, for it is not quite 1mm. in 
length, now rests in the mine for about twenty hours, after which 
period the first ecdysis takes place. Unfortunately, I have never 
actually seen the process begun. I believe the old skin splits across 
the mesothorax, the widest part, and the larva, withdrawing its head 
from the old skin, immediately begins feeding, mining a little to one 
side of the old head, which remains wedged in one side of the mine, 
where it may still be found weeks afterwards. As the larva continues 
its progress it withdraws the abdomen from the old skin, which, being 
exceedingly flimsy, is soon lost to view. The larva has now entered 
on its second stadium, and unlike many “ micro ” larva;, continues its 
mining habits as before, but it, naturally, makes a somewhat wider 
