414 Mr. C. 0. Tai ihanson’s Five Years’ Observations 
notwithstanding. They are really most extraordinary 
creatures with a perfectly amazing faculty of running 
backwards or forwards at will. They prefer the normal 
way, however, and turn themselves with astonishing ease 
in little space. When they run forward the hind legs 
appear to be more or less passive. On such a tree as I 
have described there must be enormous numbers. I am 
not exaggerating. The silk has a peculiar, sort of moon- 
stone lustre, or might be compared to a vast snail-smear 
though composed of threads, and the “ vanishing tree” 
effect is really quite striking, 
Moor Plantation. 
Dec. 12, 1917.—I have also sent one or two Embiids. 
Jan. 26, 1918.—The Embiids feed on the dead cortex— 
possibly for the lichen—of Para Rubber trees. I have a 
few with wings developing. 
Feb. 8, 1918.—I send a box with Embiid silk. It is 
difficult to get a good specimen—it is so fine. You will 
see the frass in the silk, but the frass seems to be con- 
centrated at certain centres where the silk is several layers 
thick, not unlike the thickened part of the little moth 
“mat.” At these padded parts, too, the young seem to 
congregate. I will write a full description of some of the 
curious habits of the Embuds. 
Feb. 14, 1918.—I hope to get some interesting things 
about the Embiids. I believe they show the beginnings 
of social life—more than the beginnings, in fact. The 
Embiids feed on the dead cortex of the rubber tree. There 
is no doubt about that either. And there must be hundreds 
on a single tree, all under a common silk covering. I 
don’t exaggerate when I say that I have seen 10 or 15 feet 
of the bole of a rubber tree, not less than 30 to 35 inches 
in girth, covered round and round with the silk. O3cophylla 
can walk over it but cannot get into it. Under the general 
web are thickened, practically opaque silk tunnels that 
converge at large ‘“‘junctions”’ where even the general 
web is several thicknesses. Under these thickened portions 
the insects, especially the young ones, seem to collect. 
The whole thing looks like a map of the tube railways, 
the lines being of thick opaque silk and the whole over- 
laid with a thin but impenetrable (to other insects) film 
of semi-transparent silk. The “lines” are not, I think, 
tubes but simply portions thickened for more effective 
t 
Dothan ne. 
