208 



THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. 



The pupal skin remains clinging to the 

 tree long after the adult has departed. 



[Photo. — A. Mnsiirave. 



join its comrades in the tree tops. The 

 shell of the \)U]:>?i remains clinging to the 

 tree long after its owner has departed. 



FOOD. 



One of the curious anomalies that one 

 meets with in Australia is the readiness 

 with which many of the indigenous 

 insects forsake their native food-plants 

 for those of introduced species. Thus 

 we find the larvse and pupae of the 

 Emperor Gum Moth {Antheraea eucal- 



yjiti) on the introduced pepper tree, 

 though its natural food jjlant is the 

 eucalypt. And so with the Yellow 

 Monday, while in the bush one rarely 

 meets with the insect, in the city and 

 suburbs their numbers on the intro- 

 duced trees are prodigious and their 

 noise deafening. They seem to have 

 acquired a preference for the English 

 oak, and Mr. Froggatt, who has given 

 a good account of this insect in the 

 Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales 

 for 1903, states that he has counted 

 over forty on the trunk of one oak tree. 

 As the tunnels occur in numbers at the 

 foot of these trees, it may be taken as 

 indicating the fact that in the larval 

 stages they derive their nourishment 

 from the roots of the trees. During the 

 adult stage, Mr. Froggatt states that 

 he has never known them to feed, a 

 habit which is certainly not shared by 

 all our " locusts." In a garden at 

 Parramatta, one of the oldest in tht* 

 State, I was kindly permitted by its 

 present owner, Mr. J. Bradley, to take 

 photographs of the shells of the Yellow 

 Mondays which occur there abundantly 

 at times on the trunks of the English 

 oaks and other trees. Though eucal- 

 yptus trees did not occur in the grounds, 

 shells were to be seen on the camphor 

 laurel and pine trees. The Yellow 

 Monday would seem, therefore, to be 

 most catholic in its tastes. 



The Wilderness. — By Amy E. Mack. 



Boronia Babies ; Gum- Blossom 

 Babies ; Gum -Nut Babies ; Wattle 

 Babies ; Flannel Floivers and other 

 Bush Babies. — By May Gibbs. 



One looks for something bright and 

 interesting from the pen of Miss Amy 

 E. Mack (Mrs. L. Harrison) and in 

 " The Wilderness " this is fully realised. 

 It is an account of the wild life fre- 

 quenting a not much traversed plot 

 within an area already well marked 

 with homes. The disadvantages to the 

 builder have converted it into a verit- 

 able sanctuary. The nature lover wall 

 find much enjoyment in this booklet, 



which reflects credit upon all concerned 

 — author, artist, publisher and printer. 



Miss May Gibbs' charm and style is 

 well maintained in the series above 

 listed. The appeal to young folks 

 should be strong. The mind of the 

 child is a naturally enquiring one, and 

 reading material of this nature cannot 

 but have a good effect in moulding the 

 outlook towards all things living, and 

 rendering, perhaps, less necessary the 

 provisions of the Native Animals and 

 Birds' Protection Act. The booklets are 

 admirably produced. 



Our copies from Angus & Robertson, 

 Ltd. 



