THE PLUME-MOTHS OF CEYLON. 
153 
“ For the purpose of pupating, the larvae forsake the portions of 
the plant enclosing them and prepare for themselves on the upper 
surface of the ground an oval cocoon, which is usually covered with 
grains of earth or sand, or is composed solely of a wide-meshed web. 
“ On emergence the empty pupa case remains behind in the 
cocoon . 
“ The moths fly voluntarily only towards evening, shortly before 
and after sunset, around their food plants. In repose the hindwings 
are spread out as in flight, but the segments of the fore wings, which 
cover the first two segments of the hindwings, are so apjwoximated 
to one another that they occupy only about half the breadth usual 
in flight, whereby their pattern appears very distinct. The fore part 
of the body is raised up a little, the palpi are stretched out horizon¬ 
tally and project widely; the recurved terminal joint is erected at 
an acute angle. The antennal flagellum forms with the basal joint, 
which lies on the fore part of the eye, an obtuse angle and rests under 
the wing.” 
Ovum. 
The egg of 0. hexadactyla is described by Chapman (Trans. Ent. 
Soc., London, 1896, p. 138) as about -48 mm. long and *28 mm. 
wide, somewhat cylindrical and truncate, or like a short thick brick 
with the angles and corners rounded off ; the surface is sculptured 
with irregular raised lines and pits. In colour it is at first white, 
then yellow, and finally orange. It is laid on the flower heads of 
honeysuckle. 
Larva. 
Hofmann (“Iris,” vol. XI., pp. 339-341) gives the following 
general description of the larvae of the European species of 
Orneodes 
“ The larvae present nothing very characteristic, and seem very 
similar to many Tineid and Tortricid larvae ; they are sometimes 
short and thick, sometimes more elongated, usually tapering ante¬ 
riorly or anteriorly and posteriorly, more or less convex dorsally, 
with a very small head ; the interstices between the segments are well 
marked, less so in the short thick larvae, more so in the elongated 
ones, but are always fairly distinct; an indented transverse line 
behind their middle shows that the segments are made up of two 
subsegments ; above the spiracles runs longitudinally a linear mark, 
below the spiracles a longitudinal swelling (lateral ledge). The skin 
is covered with fine, pointed, scattered spicules, which arise from 
globular chitinous appendages. (Only visible under a magnification 
of about 350.) 
“ The warts are mostly very small, inconspicuous, single-haired ; 
their position on abdominal segments 1-8 is‘the same as in the 
Tineids. I. stands on the back of the anterior, II. on that of the 
posterior subsegment, III. again on the anterior over the spiracle, 
z 6(8)10 
