( =evil- 
adopted by an ant. Dr. Jacobi admitted the extraordinarily 
detailed resemblance to an ant wrought in the pronotal shield 
of the Membracids, but preferred to think that the suggestion 
of adaptation was entirely invalidated because under certain 
circumstances another and un-ant-like method of defence was 
resorted to. It would be interesting to know whether the 
author regards this extraordinary and detailed likeness to be 
a mere coincidence. 
Tue Cocoons or THE TineEID Motu EpicEPHALA CHALY- 
BACMA, Mryrick.—Prof. PouLTon read a letter dated Feb. 13, 
1913, which he had received from Mr. T. Bainbrigge 
Fletcher, explaining that his second assistant at Coimbatore 
had arrived, in June 1910, at the same conclusions concerning 
the production of the spheres upon the cocoons of this species 
as those reached by Mr. E. EH. Green and published in Proc. 
Ent. Soc., 1912, pp. evi-cix. 
““ Many thanks for your letters of 20th and 22nd February 
with the copy of Green’s account of the Cocoon of Epicephala 
chalybacma. It is peculiar that he should have found the 
larvae descending such a height from a Rain-tree (P2thecolo- 
bium saman). This tree is commonly grown here but I have 
never seen the larvae near it, whereas the cocoons are common 
enough on Caesalpinia (Poinciana) pulcherrima. 
“On coming down here last April I was interested to find, 
amongst the notes accumulated in the Entomological Labora- 
tory, an account of this little moth from observations made 
in June 1910 by the Second Assistant, Y. Ramachandra Rao. 
I transcribe his note :— 
««« Hggs on buds; very small, with striae or grooves. 
««« Larva bores into buds and feeds chiefly on pollen sacs and 
the ovary rarely. When full grown it bores its way out through 
a hole at the base of the bud. Full-grown larvae are beautiful 
light green with red cross-bands. Full-grown larvae pupate 
on leaflets (upper surface mostly—sometimes on lower). 
‘“«* The cocoons are remarkable, as they have on their distal 
[“ upper’ was written first, but crossed out and “ distal” 
substituted—E. B. P.] surface a number of froth-like bubbles 
of a whitish colour. The bubbles are prepared at the hind 
end of the alimentary canal and excreted. The larva attaches 
