Capt. Thomas Hutton’s Account, &c. 991 
XXXI. Some Account of the preparatory States of Bombyx 
(Actias) Selene of India. By Capt. Toomas Hutton, (in 
a Letter addressed to J. O. Westwood, Esq.) 
[Read 6th May, 1844.] 
Tue first specimen of this splendid moth was brought to me on 
the 13th April, 1842, by a boy who had captured it in a deep and 
warmly-sheltered glen at Mussooree. The specimen was a female, 
and was found clinging to the branches of a tree, or rather shrub, 
very similar to the Tartarian honeysuckle ; it was accompanied by 
a male (in coitu), which effected its escape. As the specimen was 
much injured by her rough captor, I suffered her to live and de- 
posit her eggs, which she did on the evening of the same day, to 
the number of 32, each being of the size of a large mustard seed, 
and of a mottled brownish colour. During the whole of the 
succeeding day she remained perfectly stationary, clinging to the 
window frame, but in the evening deposited 84 eggs, and on the 
following evenings she again deposited as follows: on the 15th, 38 
eggs; on the 16th, 21 eggs; on the 17th, 16 eggs; on the 18th, 
21 eggs; on the 19th, 14 eggs; onthe 20th, 14 eggs; and on the 
21st, 7 eggs, amounting in all to 246 eggs, and she then died. 
On the 28th April I received a male and female from the same 
place, and in the evening the female deposited 89 eggs ; and con- 
tinued each night to increase the number until she had deposited 
300 eggs, when she died. 
On the 30th April, or eighteen days from the time of deposition, 
the first batch of eggs began to hatch; the newly born caterpillar 
is about three lines in length, hairy, and of a pale rufous red, with 
a single black band across the middle of the body, and a small 
black transverse mark on the anterior segment; along the back 
are two rows of small tubercles, and another along each side, from 
each of which spring a few short hairs, the base of which forms a 
small black dot; there is also an anal tubercle, larger than the 
others, and placed between the two last tubercles of the dorsal 
rows ; the head is black. 
I was now exceedingly puzzled to find out the proper food, and 
having unsuccessfully tried several kinds, at last gave them the 
leaves of our common hill oak (an Ilex), of which they ate sparingly 
and without appetite. This was evidently not the proper food ; 
and although they continued to eat it they did not thrive, but died 
in such numbers that I had at last only five caterpillars left out of 
546, and even these I was in daily expectation of losing, when by 
