G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 331 



HATCHING SILK-WOEMS BY ELECTRICITY. 



Silk-worms hatched by electricity are now being reared in 

 Italy. The superintendent of the experimental silk-worm 

 farm at Padua has found that the hatching: of silk-worms 

 may be accelerated ten or twelve days, and a yield of forty 

 per cent, of caterpillars secured by exposing the eggs to a 

 current of negative electricity from a Holtz machine for eight 

 or ten minutes. It is suggested to apply the same method 

 to hens' eggs, and to hastening the germination of seeds. 

 Popular Science Monthly^ November^ 1876. 



PRECOCIOUS TRANSFORMATION OF A SILK-WORM INTO THE 



MOTH. 



In 1792 Mr. Farini, of Forli, Italy, convinced himself of the 

 fact that caterpillars may directly transform into moths with- 

 out passing through a chrysalis state. He saw two boards 

 filled with caterpillars oi Boinhyx ?norz transform into moths 

 without having spun cocoons. In 1811 he received from a 

 correspondent two such winged specimens. Dr. Hagen adds 

 that the fact would be a rather interestino^ one if it were be- 

 yond doubt. As silk-worms are raised every year by mill- 

 ions, it would be supposed that the observations would have 

 been oftener made and published. Memoirs of the Mus. 

 Co mp. Zool.^ May, 1876. 



A PARASITIC MOTH. 



An extraordinary case of parasitism has been noticed by 

 Professor Westwood. The notes concerning this very unu- 

 sual instance of parasitism by a moth were received by liim 

 (with specimens) twenty-six years ago from ]Mr. J. C. Bow- 

 ring, of Hong Kong. It is a species of arctian moth, of the 

 family oiBomhycidcB, named Epipycops anomala by Bowring. 

 The caterpillars were found attached to the dorsal surface of 

 the Fulgora candelaria, the Chinese Lantern-fly, and as they 

 grew had a cottony covering, which also occurred in the 

 pupa state (a period very variable in duration). The whole 

 circumstantial evidence tended to prove that it was upon the 

 waxy secretion of the Fulgora that the larva fed, and that of 

 this the cocoon of the pupa was formed. Entomologists' 

 Monthly Magazine, September, 1876. 



