Mît Humming 



VISITS TO THE 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY'S GARDENS, 



LONDON. 



II. — The Insect House in Summer. 



KSKjLTHOUGH, as I demonstrated in my article on the 

 HifSI^ Insect House, which appeared in the Humming; 

 Bird, that building can be of great interest even in the 

 winter, still, midsummer is the time to see it in its full 

 glory, when insects from all parts of the world, and in all 

 possible stages of existence, are on view in the various cases 

 with which the house is full. Following the plan adopted in 

 my former article, of turning figuratively speaking, to the left 

 after passing through the doorway, the case of cocoons of 

 (Actias selenœ) , the Indian Moon-moth, is found to be still in 

 the same place, but now, besides the cocoons, there are several 

 fine specimens of the perfect insect, a truly superb moth, 

 which must be seen in order to be properly admired. There 

 were also, at the time of my visit, several clusters of eggs laid 

 by these moths, which will breed somewhat freely in this 

 country, although the larvae require very careful rearing. 

 They are interesting on account of the changes of colour 

 which they undergo as they shed their skins. On being 

 hatched they are black, with two or three red bands around 

 the body, when this skin is shed, the colour is changed to 

 crimson, with two rows of black tubercles along the back, 

 each tubercle bearing several white hairs. In the third stage, 

 they are a beautiful pale green, the tubercles on the first two 

 or three segments being orange-coloured, and the remainder 

 red. Each tubercle bears one or two black hairs with white 

 tips, as well as several shorter black bristles, none of the 

 hairs being clubbed at the tips, as is the case with those of 

 Antherea Pernyi (Perny's Silk-moth), and many other 

 species of the family Saturnidae. These interesting larvae 

 feed on the Walnut Tree in this country. The eggs usually 

 hatch about the end of June. 



The second case contained more cocoons and imagines 

 of the same species. Next to it was one containing cocoons 

 and perfect insects of the Great Atlas Moth (Attacus atlas) , 

 also from India, one of the largest moths in the world. By 



