THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST. 159 
of the C. Jamaicense in good condition; two of the larvae put 
in on the 7th February were still feeding on it, and one had 
pupated. This proves that 7. abeona larvae will eat and thrive 
on C. jamaicense. It also proves that Sword-grass will keep 
fresh in a bottle under conditions mentioned above, for over 
three weeks. , 
When keeping larvae on common Sword-grass, as well as on 
C. jamaicense, I never cut the long leaves into lengths to fit the 
bottle, but merely fold them and crease them at each fold, being 
careful that the side which has a tendency to curl inwards when 
on the plant, is put outside. When treated in this way. the 
leaves do not curl, and will remain fresh enough for larvae to eat 
for three weeks or a month, so that 7. abeona may be bred out 
easily by those who have little time to spare, or who have not 
the Sword-grass growing handy. 
TRANSFORMATION OF THE SAW FLY (PERGA 
DORSALIS). 
By C. T. AuueN, Pustic ScHoon, WALL. 
One evening in December, when accompanied by some of the 
children, we noticed about twenty saw-fly larvae- crawling down 
the trunk of a gum tree. The grubs were about four inches in 
length and about one inch in circumference. On reaching the 
ground they kept closely together, beating the ground with their 
tails as they crawled, and at the same time emitting a -peculiar 
yellow fluid from their mouths. By means of a spade, the grubs 
were placed in a box containing soft earth and covered with a 
glass lid. By next morning they had all burrowed beneath the 
soil. 
One morning in May a peculiar sharp humming sound was 
heard to come from the box, and -on looking through the glass 
we saw three large brown flies struggling upwards through the 
soil. In about half an hour a dozen more made their appear- 
ance; they were very handsome and strong, with iarge eyes. On 
some fresh gum leaves being given them, the flies commenced 
eating these almost immediately. On taking the box to the open 
air and removing the cover, the- flies flew away with a loud 
humming noise. Emptying the earth out of the box, we found 
the empty cases, which were about 14 inches in length, dark 
brown in colour. One end of each cocoon was punctured with 
numerous small holes, perhaps for the purpose of admitting air. 
