EXTOMOLOOT. 79 



Family Saturniidae. 



RrNACA ZuLEiKA, Hcipc. Diirjiliiig-. 



CALroriA. Cachaea, Moore. N. Cacliar. 



CiucuLA TEiFEXESTRATA, Heller. Martubaii. 



Saturnia ZriEiKA, Wcstw. 



The larva feeds on the leaves of Anacardimn orieidale, Protium Jaranum, 

 Canarium commune, etc. 



Ceictjla drepanoides, Moore. Darjiling. 



Salassa Lola, Westw. Silliet. 



AcTiAS iGXESCEXs, Mooro. Andanians. 



,, Selene, MacLcay. Andamaiis. 



This moth is recorded by 'Mr. F. Moore from Port Blair, a most remarkable 

 habitat of a moth, which in the Himalayas is found at from 5000 to 7000 feet. It 

 is not a similar case with insects recorded from " Darjilinp;," which occur also in 

 Burma, as it is a matter of notoriety that the bulk of Darjiling collections are made 

 in the low, hot and humid valleys. The transformations of this species have been 

 graphically described by Hutton (Trans. Ent. Soc. Loud. iv. p. 221, id. v. pp. 45, 85), 

 who found the larva feeding on Coriaria Xipuhnsis, Andromeda oialifoUa, Juglans 

 regia, and (?) on Carpinus liimana. The moth, when about to issue from the cocoon, 

 ejects from the mouth a few drops of clear, colourless fluid, using a tuft of down 

 between the eyes as a brush for the application of the solvent. When the iibres 

 are thus sufficiently moistened, it thrusts the point of its wing-spine or 'wing-spur' 

 (as Hutton names it) through the cocoon, drawing the cutting edge across the fibres, 

 until severed sufflciently to enable the moth to come forth. 



,, Mir-:xAs, Doidjl. Silhet. 



,, Leto, Doubl. Darjiling. 



,, Andamana, Moore. Andamans. 



The Andaman ' Tusser ' silk moth. 



The genus Antheraa yields the well-known ' Tusser ' silk, and several species, 

 as yet not fully discriminated, o^'cur throughout India. The Andaman race, or 

 species, has been separated by Moore, but wliether it is identical with that on the 

 mainland is uncertain. For an interesting account (too long to extract here) of 

 silk, sericulture, and the various silk-yielding moths, reference may be made to 

 Balfour's Cyclopa3dia of India, though the value of that work is lamentably marred by 

 the authorities for the various statements in the test being quoted collectively at the end 

 of each article, instead of indi\idually with inference to particular facts or allegations. 



Besides silk, the silk-worm yields the material known to fishermen as ' gut,' 

 which is the dried ' silk-vessel.' The largest caterpillars are selected, and killed 

 by being plunged into strong vinegar, in which they are allowed to remain about 

 twelve hours, when the two silk reservoirs are removed and stretched on a board 

 and dried in the sun. It is worth inquiiy if this article could not be largely 

 prepared from many species of caterpillars which do not yield a silk in sufficient 

 qiiantity or of a sufficiently good quality to render them worth domestication ; 

 in which case a new industry might be opened up in a hitherto neglected channel. 



SATimNiA Grotei, Moore. Darjiling. 



,, Anna, Atkinson. Darjiling. 



,, GrERiNi, Moore. Bengal. 



,, loLE, Westw. Assam. 



,, rTEETOEtJM, Westw. Bengal. 



,, ciDOSA, Moore. Darjiling. 



,, LiNDiA, Moore. Bengal. 



AxTHER^A Frithi, Moore. Darjiling. 



,, Helferi, Moore. Darjiling. 



,, AssAMA, Heifer. Assam. 



,, MIRANDA, Atkinson. Bengal. 



