172 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



pillars of these moths, and are situated in scattered groups near the 

 end of the tubercles, . . . They are not firmly embedded in the cuticle, 

 but on the contrary appear to become very easily loosened and detached, 

 and they probably, when brought into contact with the skin of any 

 aggressor, burrow underneath, and are probably in part the cause of 

 the continual itching and annoyance occasioned by the creatures. . . . 

 The body of the spine is spherical, witli one large, elongated, conical 

 spine arising from it, the spherical base being beset with a number of 

 minute, somewhat obtuse spinules." Packard also describes the large 

 hollow bristles or spines in Lac/oa, Orgyla, &c., "filled with a poisonous 

 secretion formed in a single large, or several smaller specialized 

 hypodermal cells situated under the base of the spine." — G. W. 



KiRKALDY.] 



Australian Lepidoptera and Sugar. — It has been a never-failing 

 source of wonder to me why Lepidoptera in these climes persistently 

 refuse to be lured to their destruction by the intoxicating delights of 

 sugar. When first I started experimenting I attributed my non- 

 success to the mixture, but obtaining the same result time after time 

 from sugar prepared most carefully from the best recipes, I came to 

 the conclusion the moths were at fault and not the mixture. Not 

 only have I experimented on the outskirts of the city, but also away 

 back in the bush, in places where one would imagine moths would 

 tumble over one another in their haste to get there first ; but all to no 

 purpose. Night after night I would go round in hopes that my luck 

 would at last change, but it was always the same tale. A friend in 

 New South Wales has informed me that his experiences exactly tally 

 with mine. He even went to the trouble of importing some sugar 

 already made up. It was, however, no better : cockroaches, earwigs, 

 and such-like are the only insects one finds on one's rounds. — Frank 

 M. Littler ; Launceston, Tasmania : March 16th, 1903. 



Epidemic among Caterpillars. — On several occasions when rearing 

 in breeding-cages a number of larvie of Lepidoptera (especially hairy 

 ones), I have found that after having successfully completed their last 

 moult they ceased to feed and went limp. Some would make an 

 attempt to spin, but after getting a little way would cease, shrivel up, 

 and die. Others would shrivel and die without attempting to spin. 

 In this way I have at various times lost several hundred larvse. The 

 caterpillars always had plenty of suitable food, light, and air. Just 

 recently I had a hundred and seventy larvsB of a Darala hatch ; these 

 I reared without a loss until jnst full-fed. One morning on going to 

 the cages I found many of the caterpillars limp and listless. I at once 

 removed them to fresh cages, hoping to stay the disease, but all to no 

 purpose, only forty spinning out of the lot. I have tried changing the 

 food, and all kinds of things, but without success. If any other 

 entomologists have had similar experiences, I should very much like to 

 know their opinion on the subject, to what they attribute the epidemic, 

 and how to combat it. It appears to me that what I have to do in 

 the future is not to keep more than, say, a dozen in each cage ; then, 

 if one lot sickens, there is not the likelihood of an epidemic setting 

 in, — Frank M, Littler; Launceston, Tasmania: March 16th, 1903. 



