232 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 
a large colony of the burnet. At this locality the cocoons of 
the parasites could be found on the grass stems almost as 
commonly as the cocoons of the host. I have also specimens 
from Redhill, bred from Z. trifolii June 24th, 1911, and have 
seen a specimen in Harwood’s collection said to have been bred 
from a larva of Z. lonicere taken near Newbury. 
The broods I have consist of from seven to twenty individuals, 
and 1 believe they are sometimes even larger. In each brood 
the sexes are about equally divided. I have often bred Meso- 
chorus pectoralis, Ratz., from the cocoons of this species, and 
have known instances where the whole brood has suceumbed to 
the attack of this hyperparasite. Hemiteles submarginatus, Bridg., 
is another hyperparasite which I have frequently obtained. 
(To be continued.) 
NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 
HESPERIIDZ AND Birp-proprinas.—In the article entitled 
“Curious Habits of Hudamus retracta”’ (antea, p. 38), mention is 
made of a Hesperid butterfly moistening bird-dropping and sucking 
same. I have noticed the same thing here on several occasions, and 
have always been astounded at the volume of liquid the insects would 
eject from their bodies. I have bred several species of Hesperiide 
(unhappily I have no means of classifying them yet). Their food- 
plant is nearly always moist and sappy—leaves of bananas, cannas, 
etc. Some live on sugar-canes and some also on the dry rattans. 
The bare-skinned larve fold over the edge of the leaves, and fix them 
so that there remains a protecting tunnel, in which neither rain nor 
sun disturb them. I have also never found one of them parasitised, 
which is astonishing in this land where it is always parasite on 
parasite. Should the white powder with which the caterpillar is 
covered—a soft powder, feeling like tale—act as a repulsive agent ?— 
M. E. WatsxH; Soekaboemi, Java, Dutch East Indies. 
ATTACUS ATLAS IN THE Himatayas; A LARGE SPECIMEN.— While 
travelling down from the Himalayas last week I came to a comfort- 
able little half-way house at a place called Bhowali, some ten miles 
from Naini Tal, the popular hill resort of the Kumaon district. After 
some twenty-seven miles of road journey through typical monsoon 
rain, this haven of rest appeared more than usually attractive that 
night, and after satisfying the inner man, my mind was free to 
wander in a higher plane. I soon noticed a fine female specimen of 
Attacus atlas, set out on a piece of cardboard on a table close-beside 
me. Its size at once attracted attention, and I asked the good lady 
of the house what it measured. She produced a tape measure, and 
we found that it just touched 11 inches when measured straight 
across the wings from tip to tip. The wings had slightly sprung, so 
that it would have measured well over the 11 inches if it had been 
set out quite flat. The largest specimen in the Indian Museum, 
