OIKETICUS KIRBYI. Ill 
those of the genus Psyche, Fumea, &c. " The 
male larva of Psyche," says Mr. Westwood,* " pre- 
viously to assuming the pupa state, fastens its case 
by the mouth to the surface of leaves and the stems 
of plants; the larva then turns, so that its head 
is pointed towards the opposite aperture, out of 
v^'hich the pupa half pushes itself before becoming 
an imago ; the females, on the other hand, never 
leave their cases ; and from some observations made 
by Ochsenheimer and Ingpen, it would appear that 
these females produce fertile eggs Avithout impreg- 
nation." There is therefore, a striking analogy be- 
tween these insects and Oiketicus, although many 
points remain in which they materially differ. 
Mr. Guilding states that he became acquainted 
with these animals on returning to the "West Indies 
in 1817; but although he had attentively studied 
them, he was unable to complete their history for 
many years afterwards. The larvae being common 
on many different kinds of trees, were bred in con- 
siderable numbers, but he was long disappointed in 
discovering the female insect. The male, at the 
stated period, made its appearance; but he never 
dreamed that its unwieldy and almost motionless 
partner was to be searched for in the puparium, 
which it was destined never to desert. Judging 
from other insects, he imagined that the female 
pupa had not been fully developed in consequence 
of the attacks of parasitic ichneumonidae. It was 
+ Introduction to the Modern Classification of Insects, 
vol. ii. p. 389. 
