NOTES ON EXOTIC LEPIDOPTERA. ]05 



different races : the Himalaya (sent by a correspondent in 

 Calcutta) ; a few cocoons from Madras, which had hybernated 

 twice and were in splendid condition ; and cocoons from Ceylon 

 and Bombay. Moths of these various races emerged from the 

 7th of June to the 13th of October, those of the Himalaya race 

 alone emerging from the 17th of August to the 13th of October; 

 and some may keep on emerging as long as the weather is mild. 

 I have a magnificent series of moths of all shades of colours, 

 from the bright golden yellow to the darkest brown and gray. 

 My notes on this species cover nearly six pages of my book, and 

 they could not here be reproduced, even if they were of sufficient 

 interest. An experiment I made, in view of hastening the 

 emergence of mylitta and atlas moths had the very opposite 

 effect. I plunged the cocoons in sawdust, leaving only the upper 

 ends outside : I even covered some of the cocoons with wadding 

 during the winter and part of the spring. Now only a few moths 

 emerged from these cocoons so protected, the remaining cocoons 

 remaining still in perfect condition. On the contrary, the 

 cocoons entirely exposed to a freer ventilation, produced moths 

 almost without any interruption. So my plan for hastening the 

 emergence of the moths turned out to be very bad, and I shall 

 not of course repeat the experiment. 



The number of moths I obtained was somewhat considerable, 

 but the number of pairings recorded in my book is only six. 

 The first took place on the 3rd of July; the second on the 6th; 

 the third on the 9th ; and the fourth on the 12th of July. Later 

 on I had the fifth pairing on the 7th of August, and the sixth 

 and last on the 18th of August. No larvse hatched from the eggs 

 of these last two pairings, although they were kept in a warm 

 room. The first two pairings were of the Ceylon race ; the third 

 of the Bombay race ; the fourth, a cross between a Bombay 

 female and a Ceylon male ; the fifth, a cross between Bombay 

 male and Ceylon female ; the sixth was of the Himalayan race. 

 The rearing of the larvse of the first four pairings was not 

 successful, most of the larvae dying when in the first or second 

 stage ; and I do not think oak, although they eat it, is a very 

 suitable kind of foliage for this species. Only a few larvse 

 reached the third stage, and only five the fifth stage ; three in the 

 fifth stage soon died after moulting, leaving only two. I then 

 discontinued the rearing, and sent these two remaining larvse to 



ENTOM. — MAY, 1884. P 



