82 SILKWORMS. 



is that on each of their four wings they carry a clear spot like a 

 window an area, usually more or less circular, from which the 

 customary scales are absent both on the upper and under surfaces, 

 only the colourless and transparent membrane, which forms the 

 basis of the wing, being left. These window-like spaces are 

 surrounded by concentric rings of colour, darker than the rest of 

 the wing, and hence the whole appears like a large and conspicuous 

 eye. 



By far the most important of these window-winged moths, is a 

 large insect whose silk has been utilised in India and China for 

 many centuries. It is known commercially as the Tusser, Tussah, 

 Tusseh, or Tasar moth, and its. scientific name is Anther&a mylitta 

 (Fig. 22). It is a noble insect of about six inches in expanse of 

 wings, of a pale creamy yellow in the female, and yellowish brown 

 in the male. A purplish band runs parallel to the outer edges of 

 all four wings, about a quarter of an inch from the margin, and 

 forms an elegant set-off to the uniformity of colour of the main 



Fig. 23. Cocoon of Tusser Moth. 



area of the wings ; the eye-spots are very conspicuous, and each 

 clear space is crossed by a fine line. The fore wings are some- 

 what hooked at the tip, especially in the male, and the antennae 

 are beautifully fringed. 



The caterpillar is a great greenish creature, with rows of reddish 

 warts. It spins a most remarkable cocoon (Fig. 23), of a 

 yellowish grey colour, some darker threads appearing on the outside 

 as a sort of tracery of network. It is perfectly oval, and from 

 near one end there passes a long, hard, and stiff stalk, ending in 

 a loop, which is tightly fastened round a twig. Notwithstanding 

 its hardness and stiffness, this stalk is made of silk, and by its 

 means the cocoon hangs from the twigs of the trees like a fruit. 

 The cocoon is exceedingly tough, and inside it is beautifully 

 smooth a delightfully snug nest for the dumpy brown chrysalis 

 which has to spend either weeks or months in its seclusion 

 according as it belongs to the early or late brood. So hard and 

 tough are the cocoons, that the natives in some parts of India are 

 said to use them as extinguishers to the bamboo tube in which 



