1034 Mil. A. LOVERIDGE : NOTES ON 



end. Tliere is <a curious gap between December 29tb and 

 January 9th, when none emerged ; this was not to be accounted 

 for by the weather, which was almost uniformly hot and dry 

 throughout, though I believe one or two showers did occur. 

 (Kilosa, 19.i.22.) 



78. An Amyduia and another Tineid too worn to be identilied ; 

 also Ephestia cautella Walk. (Phycitinoe : Pyralidte). Writing from 

 an ex-enemy cotton warehouse where I was camped for a few 

 days : — " There are some hundreds of clothes-moths hatching out 

 in this building every day, presumably having bred in the large 

 stock of cotton which the Germans have housed here for two 

 years past. I was very interested in seeing a dozen males 

 assembling on the outside of my mosquito not and moving to and 

 fro in ceaseless agitation over a square inch of net — not till then 

 did I notice the female on the inside of the net. Killed the 

 males. Next morning there were some more, so I killed the 

 female and drove off the males, but they returned to the spot 

 and continued to move over it for probably^ half -an-hour after she 

 had gone." (Morogoro, 19. iii. 17.) 



79. DiiEATA (Jana) sp. (Eupterotida3). The large and hairy 

 caterpillars of this moth are from three to four inches long, and 

 their clothing of fine hair over an inch in length msikes them 

 look inviting to sti^oke. The white or greyish hair, however, 

 conceals sharp rufous-coloured spines arranged around the body 

 segments. If you attempt to pick up this caterpillar the spines 

 are driven into your flesh, where they remain, being very brittle. 

 Fortunately they are not barbed, so they can be drawn out, 

 though it is difiicult to do so as they snap on account of the 

 afore-mentioned brittleness. In endeavouring to pick up one of 

 these larvae to-day T utilized a leaf of a rubber-tree to protect 

 my fingers, and was astonished to find the spines driven through 

 the leaf and into my finger. Unless poison was removed in 

 passing through the leaf, I do not think they are poisonous, 

 as only mechanical irritation was felt. The leaf bristled with 

 them, and a piece of paper proved to be no better protection. 

 When interfered with, the caterpillar half curves its body, which 

 has the effect of bringing the spines into prominence and maldng 

 them more rigid, I think. (Kilosa, 25. iii. 22.) 



One of the caterpillars cast its skin yesterday and the other 

 to-da)', though collected independently. (Kilosa, 7. iv. 22.) 



80. Prooessionahy caterpillars. I came across a proper cater- 

 pillar procession for the first time to-day. A clump of the 

 caterpillars, owing to their long, wavy, white hair which almost 

 obscured their dark green skins, had the appearance of a large 

 luxuriant patch of American blight. The clump was about four 

 feet from the ground on the bark of a tree, and reaching to the 

 ground was a single line of caterpillai's ; another line led up from 

 the clump. Each member of the procession had its head closely 

 applied to the " tail " of its predecessor, and they moved forward 



