238 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Anttleum A MYLiTT A {Attacus iiiylitta, Fabricius; Attacus paphia, 

 Linne). This large and valuable silkworm, known also under the 

 name of *'tussah" or *' tusser," is spread all over India and 

 Ceylon. It is cultivated in Bengal, Assam, &c. It has a very 

 extensive range, and may very likely be found in Burmah, Siam, 

 Cochin-China, the Malay Peninsula, and the islands of the 

 Indian Ocean. 



The cocoons of the different races of AnthercBa viylitta vary 

 considerably in size, the largest coming from the Himalayas and 

 other northern parts of India. The moths also vary con- 

 siderably in size and colour. The mylitta cocoon is perfect in 

 shape ; it is smooth and without any floss ; it is suspended to a 

 small branch of the tree or shrub on which the larva has fed, by 

 a strong silken cord, forming a ring around it. 



In Europe this species has been bred on oak and hornbeam 

 (Carpinus hetulus). In India it lives on many trees and shrubs; 

 among others, on Terminalia tomentosa, Ziziphus jujuha, Lager- 

 stroemia indica, Ficus henjanmia, Carissa enidia^ &c. ; it is also 

 said to have been found on wild plum. The moths from cocoons 

 imported from North India generally begin to emerge from the 

 end of June, but it is in July and August that they emerge in 

 numbers ; they then continue to emerge till about the end 

 of October. Moths will even emerge in the winter if the weather 

 is mild. The cocoons may hybernate twice and even three 

 times. In northern countries mylitta cannot be reared in the 

 open air, owing to the formation of the cocoon, and the hatching 

 of the larvae taking place too late in the season. In Spain, 

 where I introduced it in 1884, Mr. Segin, British Vice-Consul in 

 Mahon, Minorca, succeeded in rearing, on oak trees in the open 

 air, worms obtained from a pairing which had taken place on 

 July 31st. The eggs hatched ten days after they were laid, and 

 the larvae began to spin on Sept. 29th. Worms from two other 

 pairings which had taken place, one on Aug. 13th, the other on 

 the 14th, all died in the middle of November, in consequence of 

 a sudden and complete change of temperature, just at the 

 moment they were going to spin. 



Anthers A assama {A. assamensis, Heifer). With the excep- 

 tion of the Dehra Doon, where it lives on a tree bearing the name 

 of "kirkee," this species is only found in Assam, where, in the 

 Assamese language, it is called "muga," which means "amber," 

 on account of the colour of the cocoon. A. assamensis is culti- 

 vated in Assam on a large scale, and its silk is highly valued. 

 In certain parts of Assam five generations are obtained. The 

 sum (Machilus odoratissima) is the favourite food of this species ; 

 reared on it the worm produces, it is said, the finest and best 

 silk. In Lower Assam it is reared on the sualu {Tetranthera 

 monopetala). The foliage of certain species of forest trees, such 

 as dighlati {T. glauca), bamroti {Symplocos grandiflora), and 



