BY A. W. SCOTT, MA. 45 



The cocoons of the Ichneumons are silky, small, oval and 

 yellowish ; attached in groups to walls, palings, and frequently 

 over the remains of dead caterpillars : " these," Mr, Westwood 

 observes, " ignorant people mistake for the eggs of the caterpillar, 

 and destroy, foolishly killing their benefactors." 



The present season, dry and warm, has been unusually pro- 

 lific in the production of these insect pests, whose gregarious 

 habits have been so well described by the Rev. W. B. Clarke of 

 St. Leonard's,* who, inter alia, says that the state of St. Thomas' 

 Church, North Shore, on the 14th September, from the enormous 

 numbers of moths, was such that Divine service could not be 

 held therein ; that seven days hard labour in endeavouring to 

 subdue them had been spent in vain ; and that he had counted 

 more than 80,000 grouped together on the windows. Accounts 

 from Newcastle, 70 miles to the north, Wollongong 40 miles to 

 the south of Sydney, and other distant parts confirm this state- 

 ment as to numbers, and clearly point out ivliat has been, and 

 assuredly leads us to the question what loill he ? should the 

 weather continue as it is. Complaints have already reached us 

 from Windsor, of whole fields of young Lucerne being destroyed 

 by caterpillars, and the farmers appealing to the public for relief. 

 The intelligent agriculturist will accept this warning, take time 

 by the forelock, and quickly adopt such means as may be at his 

 command — for half a loaf is better than none. 



The remains of a moth which Mr. Clarke captured in 1851, 

 near the summit of the Mount Kosciusco range in the Australian 

 Alps, was sent to mo by that gentleman for comparison with 

 those moths now so abundant around us. I have placed this 

 mutilated specimen under the microscope, and I believe it to be 

 identical with the Agrotis above described. Mr. Clarke assures 

 me that this insect was the species so celebrated for being the 

 food of the aboriginals of that large district for many years gone 

 by, and known by them as the Bougong. I have never visited 

 the Upper Tumut, and know nothing personally about the history 

 of these very remarkable moths. 



* See Rev. W. B. Clarke's interesting letter in the "Sydney Morning 

 Herald," 1 1th October, 1867. 



