18115.] 73 



The bunch of cocoons is of about the size of the egg of a goose, and, roughly, 

 of the same shape. From it were secured last season at least 265 moths. It is 

 light (though it was doubtless heavier when it contained from 200 to 300 living 

 larvaB or pupte), and has a singular stringy appearance, the cocoons being apparently 

 laid side by side throughout, each being from an inch and a half to two inches long, 

 and much like a short bit of the loosest soft string, or perhaps even more like one of a 

 bunch of sand tubes of an Annelide, such as is often to be found on low rocks between 

 tide marks. It might even well be passed over for a lump of earth or an old crushed 

 worsted ball, or an underground fungus, and the finder must be a person of acute 

 observation or he could not have noticed it. It was dug up, the owner tells me, by 

 a nursery gardener at Staple, Kent. On enquix'y it appears that there were in tliat 

 year (1893) fourteen wasps' nests in that garden, and that six of these were situated 

 close round the spot from which the bunch of cocoons was obtained in March, 1894. 

 At that time all the fabricators were in the larva state, the pupal condition not 

 being assumed until May or the beginning of June. The first motlis emerged on 

 June loth, when a considerable number appeared, and smaller numbers from day to 

 day (probably influenced by the weatiier) till the 29th, when for a week there was 

 a vast increase in numbers ; afterwards odd specimens continued to appear until the 

 end of July. Mr. Maze says, " I remember that the greater proportion of the early 

 emergencies were males. Thsy usually commenced to come out at about 5 p.m., 

 and continued till night and often through the night. I do not remember that any 

 emerged in the middle of tiie day. It was curious to see them struggling out of the 

 middle of the cluster of cocoons, first the head, then antennae and fx'ont legs, and 

 then they rested a little while, till with a final struggle they were freed, ran down 

 tlie side of the cluster, and rested with their heads up while their wings developed, 

 which only took a short time." 



As I have already said, the cocoons are long and closely appressed one upon 

 another, indeed, curved so as to fit round and into any interstice. They are brownish 

 or earth-coloured, but tough in an extraordinary degree, so that it is difiieult to 

 detach one, and almost impossible to tear it. When cut open the long cocoon is 

 found to be merely an outer envelope, inside which is the true cocoon, about three 

 quarters of an inch long, thinner, smooth, and rather more papery in texture, but 

 extremely tough, so that the contained larva or pupa has little to fear from even a 

 mouse, while a bird would have no chance at all with it. The pupa is rather slender 

 with very long wing cases, which, with the antennae and limb cases, arc well marked, 

 but closely attached, pale brown ; abdomen rather short and blunt, redder brown, 

 as also is the remainder of the pupa. 



It does not appear that the bunch of cocoons was attached to, or even close by, 

 any one of the wasps' nests ; and the same may I think be said of the similar 

 bunches previously on record, which, in one or two cases, have certainly been found 

 under a stone. This i-aises a curious question — How did so many larviB find their 

 way to the same place ? It is difficult to understand how something approaching 

 to 300 larvEe can have fed in one wasps' nest, nor why they should do so when tliere 

 were six nests so close together. But supposing that they did feed in a single nest, 

 would every larva bo full-fed and ready to spin up on the same day and at the same 

 moment ? If not, how could the later larvu) find their way to the spot chosen by 

 those first full-fed ? and supposing that larvic occupied all the six wasps' nests, how 



