216 



BEITISH MOTHS. 



tree. This is the case with most, but 

 singularly enough not with all ; three of 

 those I had were exceptions to this rule. 

 This liquid is of an acrimonious nature, 

 probably containing an acid. A large pro- 

 portion of my caterpillars lost one or both 

 of their ' horns ' or ' tail appendages ' from a 

 curious cause. They appear to be reckoned 

 tit-bits by some individuals, and when they 

 could do so successfully they employed 

 their jaws in nibbling off the posterior 

 ornaments of their companions. This 

 strange propensity was not occasioned by 

 any scarcity of their accustomed food. The 

 caterpillars, however, when awake, are 

 peculiarly sensitive to any attacks of this 

 kind, and I noticed that these approaches 

 were only successful at times when the 

 individual attacked was in a state of repose. 

 I use the word ' awake ' advisedly, for, 

 from my observations made upon many 

 species of lepidopterous caterpillars, I feel 

 convinced that they do sleep at times, or 

 something very nearly analogous to it. 

 This same propensity manifested itself in a 

 brood of Smerinthus ocellatus, half of which 

 had the posterior horn nibbled off. When 

 the caterpillars of the Puss-moth are about 

 to cease eating and form their cocoons, the 

 whole ground colour changes to a dull 



brown. I was anxious to ascertain whether 

 any two of the caterpillars, who were seek- 

 ing at the same time for a convenient spot 

 to form their cocoons, would unite and 

 form a common one, as sometimes occurs 

 with the silk-producing caterpillars : no 

 such instance occurred. They seemed, 

 however, fond of forming their cocoons 

 upon those of their predecessors. In one 

 corner of a box I have no less than six 

 clustered together. Several of them orna- 

 mented their cocoons by interweaving some 

 of the excreta or ' caterpillar's pills,' as a 

 juvenile friend calls them, thus presenting 

 rather an odd appearance when finished." 

 These statements have been fully corrobo- 

 rated by several writers in the Entomologist 

 during the past year, especially as regards 

 the cannibalistic propensity to devour each 

 others' tails. The sources or original reser- 

 voir of the moistening fluid, together with 

 the mode of its expulsion and the chemical 

 properties, if any, of the fluid itself, are 

 subjects well worthy of careful investiga- 

 tion ; a minute investigation of the caudal 

 horns and their contained thread-like 

 appendages would also abundantly repay 

 the little expenditure of time and trouble 

 needful to obtain satisfactory results. 



389. The Lobster (Stauropus Fagi). 



389. THE LOBSTEE. The antennae are 

 strongly pectinated in the male, from the 



base to near the extremity, which is quite 

 simple and thread-like ; in the female they 



