592 



Marvels of Insect Life. 



for believing that having selected a suitable resting-place she returns to it day after 

 day. We have turned such specimens out of the house, and had good evidence 

 that the moth seen in the same place next day was the one turned out the dav before. 

 Some years ago, an entomologist named Reading, believing this to be the case, 

 deliberately marked certain individuals and turned them adrift, only to find that 

 they returned to the house. Often it is not a single moth that has been found 

 clinging under the cornice, or behind curtains, but six or more huddled closely 

 together. Summer-houses, stables, and sheds, as well as dwelling-houses are 

 favoured by them, any structure with a roof appearing to satisfy them. The 

 colouring consists of various shades of dull brown, which harmonize well with the 

 shadows where they rest. 



In spite of its familiar habits, it is by no means a well-known moth. Its period 

 of activity as a winged Insect is in July and August, and in some years it is much 



more abundant than usual. It 

 begins life as a dingy brown cater- 

 pillar of rather large size — that is, 

 about two inches in length when 

 full gro\\n. There is a series 

 of oblique paler stripes along 

 each side, and the spiracles are 

 made distinct by their red and 

 black colour. Young caterpillars 

 may be found in the autumn 

 feeding on various weeds. They 

 pass the winter in sleep, and when 

 they emerge from hibernation in 

 spring they change their food, 

 showing a preference then for the 

 new shoots of various trees, such 

 as sallow, birch, and hawthorn. 

 When full grown — about the 

 middle of May — the caterpillar 

 spins a slight cocoon, and turns to a glossy red chrysalis. In the course of a few 

 hours, however, the red is not visible, and instead of the glossy surface 

 showing, the creature is coated with a blue-grey powder, probably some form 

 of wax. In July development is complete, and the chrysalis-skin splits to 

 release the moth. Our ]jhotograph on page 395 shows a number of these 

 moths in an overlapping cluster, spending the day in a dark corner of a passage, 

 from which they flew off in the evenings and returned in the mornings. 

 It is probable that in this matter they may be guided by scent, the place where 

 they have once settled having acquired some subtle aroma from their bodies. The 

 red under-wing moth has also been observed to return to a day-time perch again 

 and again after spending the nights away. This habit, it must be understood, is 

 quite distinct from that of the tortoise-shell butterflies and the queen wasps that 

 come into houses in autumn and sleep through the long winter. 



Photo bv] 



[E. Step, F.L.S. 



Antaeus Beetles. 

 This photograph illustrates the difference between male and female in the 

 matter of horn equipment. The male, to the left, has three curved horns 

 arising from the fore-body, and apparently of no use except for ornament. 

 The female, to the right, is without even a vestige of such adornments, and 

 appears to be as well off without them. Natural size. 



