Processionary Caterpillars i55 



1 have little doubt that the Cuckoo " of the Broad " lays a 

 heavy toll on the Swallow-tailed larwT when they are in season. 

 It ma\- well be that the progressive diminution of this — our hand- 

 somest British butterfly — is, in some measure, due to the quantity 

 of Cuckoos in the district, and their insatiable appetites. 



There is a negative point of some interest with regard to these 

 diet-tables. In no Cuckoo was there found a larva of the Fox 

 moth. I daresay they eat them, but I have no evidence to that 

 effect. In the autumn, this caterpillar is plentiful on heathery 

 moorlands from Lands End to John o' Groats. It is very large and 

 very hairy : it may be that even the Cuckoo w^ill not face it, so long 

 as other larvae can be got ; or it may be that the larvae are not in 

 season soon enough. The great mass of immature Cuckoos leave 

 our shores by or before the first week in September, while the larva- 

 are not much in evidence until the middle of that month. 



V. Processionary Caterpillars. 



Having made some general remarks on the hairy caterpillars 

 found in Great Britain, and their immunity from attack by almost 

 every species of bird, I should like to conclude with a short account 

 of another hairy caterpillar which I accidentally fell in with on the 

 Riviera last year (1910). 



I refer to Cnethocampa pifvoaujipa, one of the two species of 

 processionary caterpillars. Probabh", many of m}' audience are 

 familiar with the extraordinary animal, but it was quite new to me. 

 Its remarkable habits were so interesting, that I would crave your 

 indulgence to tell my story for the benefit of those who have not 

 made this caterpillar's acquaintance. 



We were stopping at Monte Carlo. On the i8th of April we 

 took a long motor-drive into the interior, to obtain a closer 

 view of the mountainous countrv which lies at the back of the 

 coast line. 



From Mentone we turned directly inland, passing through a 

 pretty valley with vineyards and olive groves fringing the sides. 

 Our road was uphill all the way, at first a gradual and then a rather 

 abrupt rise, until we reached the ruined village of Castillon. This 

 was almost entirely destroyed, with heavy loss of life, by a severe 

 earthquake. 



From here, we proceeded to Sospel, some tweh'c miles of down- 

 hill on a nice easy gradient. After lunching, we motored on by a 

 fine though rather narrow military road, which zig-zagged up the 

 side of the mountain like a staircase, and finally reached the highest 

 point of our drive, the Col de Brause. The metalled road did not 

 (]uite reach the extreme summit of the mountain, and we had to 

 walk some 150 yards or so to obtain from the top a view of the 

 valley we had just left. We strolled up a rough road with rather a 



