PROCEEDINGS OF THE THIRD ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 653' 



No. 31. — Dasycliira mendosa, Hubn. [Mikan-Dokitga.) 



The caterpillar of this tussock moth was first found in the Taihoka 

 district, feeding on the leaf of an orange-tree, in December of the year 

 1911. It is very probable that this caterpillar almost always occurs 

 throughout the whole year in nearly all parts of the Island, and it attacks 

 the leaves of Asparagus, Fliaseolus vulgaris, Ficu^ carica, Ficus retusa, 

 Acacia sp., mulberry, orange, and tea. Although very rarely prevalent 

 to such an extent as to occasion much anxiety, it may be regarded as 

 rather abundant and the most widely distributed of all Formosan cater- 

 pillar tea-pests. The caterpillars are not usually found by the natives 

 as they feed for the most part during the night and hide below the 

 undersurface of the leaf. 



The caterpillar in colour varies to a great extent from pale yellowisk 

 to steel-grey, with the head deep black (until the third moult) to reddish. 

 The first thoracic somite is ornamented with five rather distinct flesh- 

 red longitudinal stripes surrounded by yellowish lines, and bears a long 

 greyish black tuft on each side projecting forwards. The short compact 

 dorsal tufts are three and whitish or greyish until the third moult, and 

 afterwards they become four and brownish, yellowish brown or whitish, 

 but on the fourth abdominal somite the tuft is less prominent. The 

 "lateral tuft on the first abdominal somite is usually white and con- 

 spicuous but when full-grown it becomes less con.spicuous ; on the second 

 it is bunch-hke and is black. The anal tufts are two, conspicuous 

 and greyish. The tubercles on each somite are eight and red but the 

 lower pair is paler, and the sparse tufts projecting from them are whitish 

 or yellowish. When full-grown it is about 30 to 35 mm. long. 



The caterpillars live together on the underside of the leaf until the 

 second moult, and afterwards they gradually disperse here and there. 

 They eat the leaf along the margin and when full-grown they spin their 

 elliptical dirty-white cocoon composed of fine silky thread and hairs. 

 The pupa is blackish brown ; the wing-sheaths reach to the fifth abdo- 

 minal segment ; each abdominal segment bears short pale-yellowish 

 hairs which become a compact mass on the second, third, and fourth 

 dorsal segments ; the anal segment is triangular and projects hind- 

 wards, and bears a few spines. The length of the pupal stage is from 

 about 12 days (male) to about 19 days (female). 



Four to twenty-nine days after pupation the moth emerges and the 

 female .deposits her eggs (about two or three hundred) on the leaf- 

 surface, not in a cluster but slightly covered with hairs. The duration 

 of the egg-stage is from four days to eleven days, and that of the larval 

 stage is from 22 to 29 days. 



