Entomophytes, or Entomogenous Fungi. 485 
The virtue of the fungus is supposed to pass into the flesh of 
the bird, which is to be eaten twice daily for eight or ten 
days.” Unless it is to be supposed that the virtue is confined 
to those found in Chinese,soil, here is a hint for the numerous 
Mongols in our midst. 
Having referred to the old error that the hosts of the 
various species of Cordyceps are the caterpillars of hawk-moths 
of the family Sphingide, we have to notice another and 
more widely spread delusion with regard to the identity of 
their hosts which is equally erroneous. ‘This is that the 
hosts are the larve of the large lignivorous Lepidoptera of 
the family Hepialide, known as Charagta or Ginetus; and 
the larvee of certain species of Cosside (Hndoxyla, Zeuzera, 
&c.), which are also wood-eaters. The larvee of these insects, 
like those of the gigantic ghost-moth or bent-wing moth 
(Zelotypia Stacyi, Sc.), are lignivorous, living within the 
stems and branches of the various native trees and shrubs ; 
and it is obvious that it would be impossible for large and 
highly developed fungi, such as Cordyceps, which are some- 
times of large dimensions and which are frequently found 
growing at right angles to the axis of the body of their host, 
to grow within the narrow limits of the burrows made by 
these larve: within their food-plants. With whom the mistake 
of associating the hosts with Charagia originated I have not 
been able to ascertain ; but the error is an old one, as it occurs 
in the late Dr. George Bennett’s ‘Gatherings of a Naturalist 
in Australasia’ * and in Gray’s ‘ Notices,’ &c., where the male 
of Charagia virescens, Walk. t (said by him to be the perfect 
stage of the host of the New Zealand fungus Cordyceps 
larvarum, Westw.), is figured ; and the error recurs, although 
long since corrected, in the writings of Butler, Buchanan 
White, Steele, and Tisdall. As long ago as 1864 the late 
Mr. A. W. Scott { corrected the error into which Dr. Bennett 
had fallen, and indicated the true hosts of the Cordyceps ; 
but his observations appear to have been overlooked by sub- 
sequent writers. In treating of the genus Pielus Mr. Scott 
says :— We are induced, as being applicable to the matter 
now in hand, to offer a few observations respecting those 
Australasian Lepidopterous caterpillars afflicted by Spheria 
(Cordyceps) which have come under our notice, conceiving 
that this subject has hitherto been treated more in a botanical 
light than the one interesting to the entomologist ; and to do 
so more effectually it is necessary to exhibit clear outlines of 
* P, 288 (1860). 
+ Charagia rubroviridens, Walk., is the female of this moth. 
{ ‘ Australian Lepidoptera and their Transformations, pp. 5 and 12, 
