144 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



Insects. 



Much has been said as to some spiders which have agaiu 

 and again been declared poisonous. Of these I have collected 

 hundreds, and my Betsileo assistants took them up fearlessly 

 in their hands and laughed at the idea of their being dangerous. 

 In the forest and outlying patches of wood, spiders are very 

 numerous, and often cover the branches with thick net- 

 works. The people in the forest spin these webs, and make 

 them into a kind of rough cloth. Although I have large 

 collections of the Lepidoptera and Coleoptera, I am not fully 

 acquainted with them. The diurnal moth Urania now shown 

 is a most interesting insect, as all the other species of this 

 genus inhabit tropical America and the West Indian Islands. 

 It is usually to be found on the western outskirts of the gi'eat 

 forest. In some years it appears in great numbers, and proceeds 

 inland, when thousands of them may be caught in any garden 

 where " bebas " trees are in blossom. The Papilio antenor, at one 

 time a valuable insect, is only found in the western districts, 

 and there in considerable numbers. The native silk- worm is 

 largely cultivated by the people in the southern part of the 

 Betsileo province. The cocoon of this insect is covered with 

 short black hairs, which are generally removed by rubbing 

 them on the ground, or covering them with cow-dung. The 

 cocoon is then slit up, and the chrysalis taken out for food, 

 inverted and softened in hot water, drawn out and spun into 

 a rough coarse thread. The caterpillars and cocoons are 

 largely sold in the local markets. The moth, male and 

 female, you have before you. 



In Coleoptera Madagascar is exceedingly rich, more especi- 

 ally in the Cetonida^, which are found in great numbers all 

 over the island, especially in the months of December and 

 January. The grub of one beetle, the cockchafer, is eagerly 

 sought for by the natives in the damp ground at the com- 

 mencement of their spring, and is esteemed by them a great 

 delicacy. Of the locusts there is a considerable variety, no less 

 than forty or fifty species being collected by me within a few 

 yards of my own house. The migrations of one species of this 



