110 



Marvels of Insect Life. 



gloriously coloured with a beautiful green shaded with blue, and from each of the 

 rings or segments of its body there stand out five stout, fleshy spines of red, blue, 

 and yellow, some of them knobbed and the knobs supporting sharp, black bristles. 

 The outer envelope of the cocoon is so closely woven, with the interstices filled 

 with liquid silk, that it is as tough and firm as vellum ; the inner lining is of similar 

 consistency but thinner. An Indian species is described as having the cocoon 

 of leather-like texture, and Colonel Sykes said it was cut into strips by the Mahrattas 

 and used as thongs for lashing together the barrel and stock of their guns. 



The tusseh silk-moth ^ is a fawn or brown-coloured moth, with a wing expanse 

 of four or five inches, and a strongly marked eye-spot on each wing. The caterpillar 

 is pale yellow-green, with metallic spots along the sides, and is about three inches 



in length. It feeds upon several kinds of 

 trees in the forest regions of India, where 

 the natives watch the caterpillars at large 

 on the trees rather than properly domes- 

 ticating them, collecting the cocoons when 

 they are ready. These are large ovals of 

 a dark-brown colour, about two and a quarter 

 inches long, and suspended from a branch 

 by a long silk stalk. As in the case of the 

 mulberry silkworm the chrysalis has to be 

 killed, and then the silk is reeled from the 

 cocoon. It is woven into a fine enduring 

 fabric, and its manufacture is an important 

 industry. The muga silk of Assam 

 product of an allied species.- Arrindi 

 obtained from a near relation of the 

 the largest known moth, with 

 of wings varying from eight to 

 three-quarter inches. The arrindi- 

 wild form, and what is believed 

 a domesticated race ^ of it 

 silk of Assam. In this case 

 be unwound from the cocoon. 



Dioto by] [H. Baslin. 



The Arrindi-Silkworm. 

 This handsome caterpillar is coloured green, 

 spotted with black, and bears fleshy spines. It 

 feeds upon the castor-oil plant and the leaves of 

 the ailanthus-tree. The spinning of its cocoon is 

 shown on the page opposite. 



Indian 

 is the 

 silk is 

 atlas-moth,^ 

 an expanse 

 eleven and 

 moth 4 

 to be 

 the eri 

 cannot 



IS a 



produces 

 the silk 

 but has 



to be woven into threads as cotton is woven. 



Bee's-nest Beetles. 



The nests of bees, wasps, and ants give shelter to numerous Insects other than 

 the builders and their progeny. Some of these, as we lia\'e already shown, though 

 long considered as enemies, are now known to be very useful friends. But the 

 beetles to which we propose now to call attention have not yet had any advocate 

 declaring that their character has been misunderstood in the past. So far as it 

 goes, our present knowledge of their habits and life-history seems to prove that 

 they are enemies to the industrious bees and wasps ; but we should not be at all 

 surprised if some one discovered tliat their work was much more that of the 



> Anthera>a paphia. ^ A. assama. '■' Attacus atlas. •• A. cynthia. ^ A. ricini. 



