103 



NOTES ON EXOTIC LEPIDOPTERA REARED IN 1883. 



By Alfeed Waillt. 

 (Membre-Laureat de la Societe Nationale d'Acclimatation de France.) 



(Concluded from p. 33.) 



Leaving the American species, I now come to my — 



Hybrid, Boylei-Pemyi. — In my report on the rearings 

 of 1882, which appeared in the ' Journal of the Society of Arts,' 

 19th and 26th of January, and 2nd and 23rd of February, 1883, 

 long details on the rearing and descriptions are given of this new 

 silkworm, which I had obtained by the crossing of Anthercea 

 Roylei and A. Pemyi. This year (1883) would have been the 

 third year of its existence, but I much regret to say that it has 

 disappeared entirely, degeneracy being the principal cause ; the 

 same degeneracy having also showed itself with the A. Pemyi 

 bred at the same time. Details on this subject will be given in 

 my next report. 



Attacus cynthia (Ailanthus silkworm). — This year, having no 

 Ailanthus trees at my disposal, as I had at my former residence 

 in London, I reared the worms most successfully on laburnum 

 trees; a few also fed on lilac and the common ash. I had a 

 considerable number of cocoons, the moths from which emerged 

 from the 2nd to the 30th of June. I obtained thirty pairings, 

 and therefore several thousands of eggs and larvae. These I 

 placed on most trees in the garden, some when young feeding 

 well on the climbing rose-trees against the house, but they all 

 disappeared with the exception of those on the laburnums and 

 the few placed on lilac and ash. The first cocoons were com- 

 menced on the 1st of August and the last on the 27th of 

 September. 



Actias selene. — Of this splendid Indian species I only had 

 a few cocoons, which were from my own rearing in 1882, and a 

 few also which had been sent to me from Scotland and Germany, 

 all from the same stock of ova obtained by me in 1882. Some 

 of these cocoons, which I had partly cut open to see how many 

 sound pupse I could rely upon, were attacked by dipterous 

 parasites; so were cocoons of other species, cut open for the 

 same purpose. I have therefore come to the conclusion that it is 

 dangerous to the pupse to thus open the door to their parasitic 



