306 LIFE STORIES OF AUSTRALIAN INSECTS. 



ing the leader off and watching the result of the 

 procession. They pupate in the ground, and spin -, 

 there the silken cocoons. 



There is a giant tussock moth, Chelepteryx collesi. 

 The caterpillar of reddish brown is armed with 

 stiff bristles, which give it a formidable appear- 

 ance, and these bristle-like hairs are a weapon of 

 defence, for they have an irritating effect on the 

 skin. Mr. C. H. Wickham, in ''The Australian 

 Naturalist," records: "The caterpillar feeds on 

 eucalyptus leaves at night, resting by day on the 

 bark, where it is inconspicuous. They sometimes 

 grow to a length of six inches. The irritating 

 brown hairs are readily shed, and constitute an 

 effective defence against molestation. When pupat- 

 ing, the caterpillar presses its back against the 

 silkj^ cocoon, causing hairs to protrude right 

 through, in wliich position they remain when the 

 larva withdraws its back. The sides are then 

 treated in tlie same way. The cocoon is thus 

 tlioroughly protected. (Plate 39, Fig. 4 a.) The 

 larva? are found from November to January, and the 

 pupal state lasts for 150 to 160 days." 



The tussock moth larvae, or ''woolly bears," are 

 frequently parasitised by braconid and ichneumon 

 wasps; such females usually have a long, slender 

 ovipositor, which reaches down among the hairs 

 and places the eggs in the body of the victim. The 

 wasp maggots, when ready to pupate, make their 

 w^ay out of the living but weakened caterpillar, and 

 spin little white cocoons on or near the victim, 

 which then dies. Sometimes a cocoon is found 

 full of these tiny white wasp-cocoons. 



