Docetnber, 19U1]. 289 



Oduiituckeilopterj/x sobria, Walk.— " Wi.' scavccly evcv sec this species out of 

 doors, but it comes to tlie windows on damp nights. Edward found a large cluster 

 of insignificent looking, rather hairj, whitish caterpillar^ on the under-side of the 

 trunk of a bending tree in the shrubbery. He called me and 1 secured them — 

 such a host— I had to put tliem into three cardboard boxes; thej fed on Mimosa, 

 but soon spun up, some on the Mimosa either singly or clustered together, others on 

 the bos. The moths emerged two or three at a time, and would hide themselves so 

 cleverly that it was diiBcult to see them, and they would often get overlooked; theu 

 tliey would bang themselves about in the box and soon knock their scales off. To 

 get any of them nearly perfect I am obliged to examine the boxes several times a 

 day ; indeed, I have watched carefully, and think that they must begin to beat about 

 very soon after emerging from the pupa. I do not understand why the moths come 

 out so small, for the caterpillars have been plentiful and rather finer this year." 



[This is indeed a restless species ; it is not naturally very thickly clothed with 

 scales, but almost every male bears some traces of its knocking about, and some 

 are reduced to mere shadows, the wings nothing but membrane. The females are 

 a little better. The moth evidently is small in proportion to its larva — those taken 

 at the windows do not seem to be larger than those reared ! The larva, which it has 

 been necessary to draw on coloured paper, seems to be light brown, but almost en- 

 tirely covered with tufts of white hairs of moderate length, mixed with some tufts of 

 more obscure bi'own and grey ; on the second, fifth and anal segments are more erect 

 and rather longer loose tufts of more distinctly brown hairs, and longer white tufts 

 lie prostrate both in front and behind ; indeed, there is a tendency to the prostrate 

 form of lateral tufts so well known in the genus Gastropacha. The pupa very 

 closely resembles tho^e of the two species of Chilena just described ; cylindrical, 

 tJie anal segment very fully rounded and without structure ; the surface dull, rather 

 as though shagreened, purple-brown, more red-brown behind. Cocoon almost cy- 

 lindrical, dirty white, very tough, and when cut open very closely resembling, in 

 structure and strength, and also in the silky inner surface, the inside of a dried 

 kidney-bean pod]. 



Taragama poJydora, Feld. — " The larva was found upon black wattle, an intro- 

 duced Australian tree ; we have been unable to meet with it again, and thei*e was 

 not time to figure it ; the moth appears to be rare." 



[The pupa is very much refunded in front and also behind; the limb-covers 

 flattened and closely packed ; the antenna covers very broad for half their length, 

 then suddenly narrow, finely sculptured with the cross markings of the pectinations ; 

 wing covers dull from minute granulations; all these portions purple-brown ; dorsal 

 segments dark red-brown, coarsely pitted ; abdominal segments shining, red-brown, 

 very finely and sparingly clothed with minute hairs ; anal segment rounded and 

 more thickly sprinkled with fine bristles. The cocoon is rather large and tough, of 

 irregular form and thin texture, fixed to twigs bj' a slight exterior webbing of 

 thin silk. This pretty graceful Lasiocampid belongs to the slender group of which 

 the beautiful iSpanish Megasoma repanda is the only European exponent. It is 

 somewhat allied to Gastropacha']. 



{Tu be continued). 



