408 CATALOGUE OF 



a. $ . (Att. lunula, Walk.) N. India. From the Asiatic 



Society of Bengal. 



b. ? . (Ditto.) Assam. Presented by Col. Buckley. 



c. d. (Sat. Ricini, Boisd.) From M. Becker's Col- 



lection. 



" The insect," says Dr. Roxburgh, " known to the Hindoos by the 

 name oiArindy in some parts, in others Arundi, appears to be peculiar 

 to the interior parts of Bengal ; and, so far as I can learn, to two dis- 

 tricts only, viz., Dinagpore and Rungpore, where the natives breed 

 and rear it in a domestic state, as they do the common silkworm. The 

 food of the caterpillar consists entirely of the leaves of the common 

 Micinus, or Palma Christi, which the natives of these districts call 

 Arrindy (hence the name of the insect), and is abundantly reared over 

 every part of India, on account of the oil obtained from the seed. 



" Eggs pure white, which hatch in from ten to fifteen days. The 

 larvae arrive at their full size, which is from two and a half to three 

 inches, in about one month, during which they cast their skin three 

 or four times. They are very voracious, devouring daily many times 

 their own weight of food. The cocoon, or covering thereof, is white or 

 yellowish, of a very soft, delicate texture, in general about two inches 

 long and three, in circumference, pointed at each end ; in it the 

 animal remains dormant from ten to twenty days, according to the 

 temperature. The perfect insect lives from four to eight days, 

 remaining perfectly contented in its chamber, seldom attempting to 

 fly away. 



" Mr. Atkinson remarks that ' they are reared in a domestic state, 

 and entirely feed on the leaves of the Palma Christi plant. Their 

 cocoons are remarkably soft and white, or yellowish ; the filament so 

 exceedingly delicate, as to render it impracticable to wind off the 

 silk : it is therefore spun like cotton. The yarn thus manufactured 

 is wove into a coarse kind of white cloth, of a seemingly loose texture, 

 but of incredible durability, the life of one person being seldom 

 suflicient to wear out a garment made of it.' " — (Trans. Linn. Soc. 

 VII. p. 42, 1804.) 



The caterpillar of the Eria, according, to Mr. Hugon (see J. A. S. 

 Beng. VI. pp. 23, 24), " in a domesticated state at Assam, is, when 

 young, about a quarter of an inch in length, and nearly black ; as it 

 increases in size, it becomes of an orange-colour, with six black spots 

 on each of the segments ; the head and legs are black ; after the 



