14 FAUNE ENTOMOLOGIQUE DE L AUSTRALIE 



cxtraordinary one I ever heard is that of Gadirtha inexacta Walk. (i), a moth and two pupal 

 shells of which arc sent. TIic larvae spins a thin but taut cocoon, usually on a dry leaf, and, 

 when molested, the chrysalid can give out a reall\- startlmg rattling, so loud that it can he 

 heard for a considérable distance; the first I heard was one a boy of mine was bringing home 

 to me, as he approched and was still some 30 yards away, I supposed he held a cicada, which 

 was complaining of the treatment it was receiving. Later I had other pupae and bred out some 

 of the moths. It will be seen that the pupa has an unusual abdomen, the segments being much 

 separated and knobby, thèse can be moved strongly and rapidly, and striknig the leaf and 

 sides of the cocoon, the loud noise is made. The cocoon is easily torn at the head, where it is 

 somewhat thinner than elsewhere, and the pupa, viewed through the break, much resembles one 

 of the brown Locustidœ common in folded leaves and which spin a thin web over the outlet. So 

 a pupa, being exposed, may be taken for one of those savagc insects, and, by rattling and jer- 

 king about a little, help to drive off inquisitive intruders. When touched or lightly shaken it 

 has the habit of giving out a short and sharp rattle, sharp enough, I fancy, to alarm and put 

 to flight various meddlers. 



Of scveral Sphingidœ and some small Nocliiid moths which produce sounds none can 

 approach the whistling powers of a blackish Agarista with yellow band, about 50 mm. in expanse, 

 found in South Queensland. The moth, the name of which I cannot procure, Aies high and in 

 a zigzag manner giving out a loud hissing kind of stridulation not unlike that of some of the 

 Locustidaî, and which, on a ralm day, can be heard 60 or 70 yards away. On hot overcast days 

 I hâve captured cfs resting head downward on tree-trunks, and hâve at times taken the Q rising 

 from the ground, but she does not appear to soar aloft or to give out the whistle. The extraor- 

 dinarily ribbed nature of the wings of this moth will account for its whistling powers, the 

 zigzagged and long sustained flight seem necessary to bring out the full volume of sound, which 

 does not continue evenly, but rises and falls as the insect turns in its flight. Hecaiesia fenestrata 

 has been observed flying over a resting Q and giving out a shrill whistling at the same time, 

 but the moth has not corne under my notice. 



The only noise-producing larva I hâve met with is that of Coscinocera hercules (Miskin). 

 When irritated it strikes round with its forepart and gives out a crackling sound, somewhat 

 comparable to a pièce of crisp paper being several times sharply pressed. As the Attacus 

 Dohertyi 1 bred out in N. W. Australia makes no noise it would be interesting to know whether 

 the peculiarity cxhibited by C . hercules has been noticcd in any of the other large Saturnidœ. 

 Chœrocampa eroliis and .4 ulherœfi simplex larvae, and others, when molested spit out a quantity 

 of green liquid, accompanied by a slight bubbling sound, but the\- can scarcely be regarded as 



noise producers. 



F. P. DODD. F. E. S. 

 Kuranda, 14 : III : 13. 



(i) D' A. J. TuRNER tells me that the name of the noctiiiil the pup.T of whuvh makes the loud rattling noise in the 

 Cocoon, \% Gadirtha inextaViW., that it ranges to India and China, Kuranda being the most southern locality recorded 

 for the species (1'". P. Dodd, in litteris, 8 mai 1913). 



