542 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XVII. 



effected by means of 2 sharp spurs seemingly attached to the shoulders of the 

 imago and which projected just above the level of its head. With a deliber- 

 ate backwards and forwards and rotary motion of its whole body the imago, 

 after resting at intervals for a minute or so, had succeeded in completely 

 fretting through the apex of the cocoon and in a few more seconds was trailing 

 its abnormally long and unweildy body up the muslin curtain. It was interest- 

 ing to notice how that as the abdomen, which at the moment of exit was nearly 

 twice its ultimate length, gradually contracted, so the wings slowly expanded, 

 till at the end of an hour the insect had attained its normal proportions. 



I subsequently observed the process of exit some score of times as did also 

 my wife and a brother officer who was my guest at the time. In every case 

 was the process the same. The spurs, which are very hard and sharp, are 

 straight and are attached to the base of vein of the forewing on the upper 

 side. Owing to the hunched position of the imago just prior to its exit and 

 to the rudimentary condition of the wings, the spurs naturally project 

 just sufficiently above the level of the head to enable the imago, as it presses 

 upwards with its legs against the apex of the cocoon, to exert the necessary 

 amount of force without any pressure being brought to bear upon its head 

 and the delicate antennae. 



As the wings expand so the position of the spurs, which are, by the way, of a 

 dark chestnut colour and about l-32nd of an inch long, alters, till in the perfect 

 imago they can only be found by probing the dense plumage on the upper 

 side of the base of the forewing with a sharp point. I am unable to state 

 definitely whether the spurs remain attached throughout the whole life of the 

 imago or become detached and fall off when the insect has become fairly 

 launched upon its aerial career. None of the specimens in my collection were 

 allowed to do more than flutter across the window of my little workshop. 



It is also most interesting to note that I observed the imagines of both 

 A. roylei and G. simla employ precisely the same means of escape as those 

 of A. selene,, the spurs in all three being identical. The two former, how- 

 ever, invariably emerged between nightfall and midnight, while the latter 

 did so by day between the. hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and the whole process 

 never lasted less than 10 and rarely more than 20 minutes. I consider it very 

 probable that all cocoon-spinning Heterocera effect their release in the 

 same manner, and will be much interested to know whether any other 

 members of the Society have made similar observations with other species. 



H. W. KETTLEWELL, Lieut., 

 Fyzabad, 20th July 1906. 85th King's L. I. 



No. XXXV.-PARASITES IN SPARROW HAWKS. 



I should be much obliged if some member of our Society could give me 

 some information about worms in hawks. 



On the 19th of May, I caught a sparrow hawk which died five days subse- 

 quently. It was fed daily on three fresh sparrows, flies were very bad, but 



