HAPtDWlCKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



humour played off upon a cat which had, upon a 

 very fine day, seated herself upon the top of a gate- 

 post, as if in contemplation ; when ten or a dozen 

 swallows, knowing her to be an enemy, took it into 

 their heads to tantalize her in a manner which 

 showed a high degree not only of good sense but of 

 humour. One of these birds, coming from behind 

 her, flew close by her ear, and she made a snap at 

 it with her paw, but it was too late. Another 

 swallow, in five or six seconds, did the same, and 

 she made the same unsuccessful attempt to catch 

 it. This was followed by a third, and so on to the 

 number just mentioned ; and every one, as it passed, 

 seemed to set up a laugh at the disappointed enemy, 

 very like the laugh of a young child when tickled. 

 The whole number, following one another at the 

 distance of about three yards, formed a regular 

 circle in the air, and played it off like a wheel, 

 at her ear for near an hour, not seemingly at all 

 alarmed at me, who stood within six or seven yards 

 of the post. I eujoyed this sport as well as the 

 pretty birds, till the cat, tired out with disappoint- 

 ment, quitted the gatepost, as much huffed, I 

 believe, as 1 had been diverted." G. E. R. 



NOTES ON THE WEB- WEAVING 

 CATERPILLARS. 



THE majority of insects producing cocoons and 

 webs are found chiefly in the great group of 

 Nocturni, formely called Bcmhtjces, from the Greek 

 jioj-itvi, a silkworm. In the other divisions of 

 motlis, the pupa is genearally either subterra- 

 nean or concealed in leaves spun together. Nearly 

 all our butterflies belong to the Detegentes, or 

 Exposers, with the exception of the Hesperidse, 

 which are placed under the Celantes, or Concealers. 

 The pupae of the Noctuas are generally subterra- 

 nean, although in them also there are exceptions. 

 In England there is but one butterfly constructing 

 a web ; this is the Black-veined White {dporia 

 cratcegl), which, though here too scarce to do any 

 damage, is on the Continent classed among 

 noxious insects. It feeds on the Whitethorn, and 

 appears on the wing in June and July. This 

 species appears to be gradually becoming extinct, 

 as it is now scarce where it was formerly abundant. 



The conimonest of the web-weavers is the larva 

 of the Lackey-moth {Bombyx neustria), which may 

 be seen on most hedges in the middle of June. It 

 also attacks fruit-trees, and is often sufficiently 

 common to be injurious. The most peculiar circum- 

 stance, however, concerning the Lackey is the 

 manner in which the female deposits her eggs. The 

 Rev. J. G. Wood, in " Homes without Hands," 

 gives the following account of the manner in which 

 she proceeds, and also of the origin of the name. 



" When the mother insect lays her eggs, she 



deposits them on a small branch or twig, disposing 

 them in a ring that completely encircles the twig, as 

 a bracelet encircles a lady's wrist. When she has 

 completed the circle, she covers the edge with a 

 kind of varnish, which soon hardens, and forms a 

 perfect defence from the rain. The varnish is so 

 hard and binds the eggs so firmly together, that if 

 the twig be carefully severed, the whole mass of 

 eggs can be slipped off entire. As this tarnish 

 produces the same effect as lacquer does on 

 polished metal, preserving the surface and defending 

 it from rust, the insect is called the ' Lacquer,' a 

 word that has been corrupted into 'Lackey.' " A 

 caterpillar well known to gardeners is that of the 

 little Ermine-moth (Tinea padelld). The web of 

 the larva seems designed to protect it from the 

 attacks of birds, which seem unable to break 

 through the tough outside case of the web. But 

 although this may be a means of shelter from birds, 

 it exposes them to a danger scarcely less formidable, 

 inasmuch as, the web being very conspicuous, the 

 larv£E may be destroyed in detail. It is fortunate 

 that it is so, for as each web contains an immense 

 number of inhabitants, were each larva to come to 

 maturity, there would soon be scarcely a leaf left 

 on our fruit and may-trees, which plants are the 

 especial victims of its attacks. 



An insect tolerably well known, but not quite so 

 common as the two last, is the Gold-tail {Leparis 

 auriflm). This moth has in its larval stage the 

 power of " urtication," that is to say, it stings 

 worse than nettles. The caterpillar itself is a very 

 pretty insect, the colours beiug black and scarlet, 

 mingled with white. It is found in June, feeding 

 ou' the Blackthorn [Primus spimsa). Another 

 moth that occasionally swarms in some years, 

 whilst in others it is hardly to be found, is the 

 Brown-tail {Leparis chrysorrhcea'). It is very nearly 

 allied to the foregoing, the chief distinction being 

 that the tuft at the end of the tail is brown instead 

 of yellow. A web-spiuner that must be well known 

 to the readers of Science-Gossip is the small Eggar. 

 moth {Eriogaster lanestris) ; but it has been so fully 

 discussed iu these pages, that there is no need to 

 write more. The Kentish Glory (Eudromis versi- 

 color) is another of our web-weavers : it was once, 

 as its name imports, found iu Kent. Its principal 

 habitats are Rannoch Woods, near Perth, being 

 very scarce in the couuty from which it takes its 

 name. The reason why some larvse should provide 

 themselves with webs, whilst others content them- 

 selves with the shelter of the foliage, has never been 

 satisfactorily explained. There is no perceptible 

 difference in the organization of caterpillars, nor 

 are the larvae of the web-spiimers apparently more 

 delicate than those of other Lepidoptera. Nor is 

 the use of the web itself very evident. In the case 

 of the little Ermine-moth, it is evidently intended 

 as a means of safety from birds ; its utUity iu other 



