Clifton College Scientific Society. 73 



but soon wnggled back, by means of its thread, to the skrub, 

 and recommenced eating, apparentlj^ none the worse. But 

 it was doomed ! The number of larvse destroyed by these 

 ichneumons is enormous, and, speaking from my own expe- 

 rience, I have little doubt that, of every ten, half at least 

 perish from their attacks. I may add that, m some cases, 

 the ichneumon pierces even the egg itself. The mimber of 

 eggs deposited in the body of a caterpillar varies from one to 

 a hundred, or even more. I have myself seen no less than 

 eighty little ichneumons issue from the body of a small larva 

 belonging to the genus Eupithecia (Lep.).' 



In illustration of the foregoing, Mr. Greene exhibited 

 examples, viz., a dipterous ichneumon, which had emerged a 

 fcAV days before from a chrysalis — a larva similar to the one 

 alluded to above {Eupithecia alhipunctata), and at that 

 moment crammed full of ichneumons ; and, lastly, a cellular 

 substance collected about a small twig, which had been pro- 

 duced by a number of ichneumons, which had emerged from 

 the body of a caterpillar, observing that this was the most 

 I'emarkable example he had ever met with. 



He then, by means of coloured diagrams, explained how 

 the caterpillars of butterflies pass from the larval to the 

 pupal or chrysalis state, and entered into full details of the 

 various kinds of cocoons, wood, moss, earth, sUk, &c. in 

 which the pupae of moths shelter themselves during that 

 period of their existence, and exhibited a box containing 

 upwards of 200 chrysalises, cocoons, &c. The examination 

 of these excited a good deal of interest and sm'prise. As a 

 proof of the sti'ong gnawing power possessed by some cater- 

 pillars, he gave the following little anecdote : — ' I remember, 

 Avhen I first began to collect, finding a full-gi'own larva of 

 the common " Puss Moth." Handling it with much tender- 

 ness, lest I should hm't it, or, to speak more correctly, lest it 

 should hurt me — for, to own the truth, I was horribly afraid 

 of it — I brought it home and placed it in a box with a gauze 

 cover. It is hardly necessary to say that, Avhen I examined 

 the box next day, the Puss Moth was gone, and I distinctly 

 remember shedding tears over the loss. Some months after, 

 in removing the table-cover, I found it adhering to one of the 

 legs, and there I found my missing caterpillar. Having 

 escaped from the box, it had very sensibly walked down the 

 leg, and finding it to be a suitable spot for its purpose, had 

 scooped out the solid mahogany with its jaws, placed itself 

 within, made a roof of the abraded particles, and finally 

 attached to its cocoon the table-cover, in order to ensure 

 warmth and comfort.' 



