104 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



enemies. This habit of opening the cocoon to see if the pupa is 

 alive is frequently resorted to, but it ought to be discontinued in 

 consequence of the fatal effects resulting therefrom. Three 

 moths I mentioned as having emerged in January. From the 

 4th of June to the 14th of July thirteen moths emerged, four 

 females and nine males. The last female moth, which emerged 

 on the 4th of July, and the last male, which emerged on the 14th, 

 having come singly, were of no use for reproduction. The three 

 other females, having emerged in company of males, all paired, 

 which was a complete success as far as the pairings were 

 concerned. The first pairing took place between 12 and 8.30 on 

 the morning of the 21st of June, all the ova hatching without 

 any difficulty from the 0th of July. I did not keep any ova 

 of the second pairing, which took place on the 28th of June ; but 

 those I kept of the third pairing (29th of June) did not hatch, at 

 least one larva alone hatched. The third and last pairing was that 

 of the two finest and largest specimens, and it lasted a considerable 

 time. How is it that the larvae did not hatch ? The same 

 unfortunate result took place with other species, especially with 

 the two last pairings of Antheraa mylitta. I cannot tell the cause 

 to a certainty, but my opinion is that it is due to unfavourable 

 weather, just at the time when the larvae are on the point 

 of hatching ; the larva?, through want of sufficient heat, have not 

 strength enough to cut the shell of the egg, and die and dry up 

 inside tbu egg. Details on the rearing of this species will be 

 given later on. The last selene larva, reared in the garden on a 

 pear-tree, did not begin to spin before the 11th of October. 



Actias atlas. — Of this species I had a large number of cocoons 

 of the Ceylon race, from which I only obtained ten moths, at 

 intervals, from the 11th of July to the 20th of September; 

 several moths were crippled, and there was no chance of obtaining 

 a single pairing. With twelve cocoons of the large Himalaya 

 race I obtained four moths, two females and two males, one 

 of the latter, the last moth obtained, being a cripple. Two 

 specimens, one male and one female, were very perfect and with 

 splendid colours, and both measured over ten inches in expanse. 

 These four specimens emerged from the 28th of August to the 

 28th of September. One cocoon I found later on, with a male 

 dead moth inside the pupa-case, a thing of frequent occurrence. 



Aiithercea mylitta (paphia). — Of this species I had four 



