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ANIMALS OF EGA 



It forms a very conspicuous object, hanging thus in mid- 

 air. The glossy threads with which it is knitted are 

 stout, and the structure is therefore not Hable to be torn 

 by the beaks of insectivorous birds, whilst its pendulous 

 position makes it doubly secure against their attacks, 

 the apparatus giving way when they peck at it. There 

 is a small orifice at each end of the egg-shaped bag, to 

 admit of the escape of the moth when it changes from 

 the little chrysalis which sleeps tranquilly in its airy 

 cage. The moth is of a dull slaty colour and belongs to 

 the Lithosiide group of the silk- worm family (Bomby- 

 cidse). When the caterpillar begins its work, it lets itself 

 down from the tip of the leaf which it has chosen, by 

 spinning a thread of silk, the thickness of which it slowly 

 increases as it descends. Having given the proper length 

 to the cord, it proceeds to weave its elegant bag, placing 

 itself in the centre and spinning rings of silk at regular 

 intervals, connecting them at the same time by means 

 of cross threads ; so that the whole, when finished, forms 

 a loose web, with quadrangular meshes of nearly equal 

 size throughout. The task occupies about four days : 

 when finished, the enclosed caterpillar becomes sluggish, 

 its skin shrivels and cracks, and there then remains a 

 motionless chrysalis of narrow shape, leaning against the 

 sides of its silken cage. 



Many other kinds are found at Ega belonging to the 

 same cocoon-weaving family, some of which difier from 

 the rest in their caterpillars possessing the art of fabri- 

 cating cases with fragments of wood or leaves, in which 

 they live secure from all enemies whilst they are feeding 

 and growing. I saw many species of these ; some of 

 them knitted together, with fine silken threads, small 

 bits of stick, and so made tubes similar to those of caddice- 

 worms ; others (Saccophora) chose leaves for the same 

 purpose, forming with them an elongated bag open at 

 both ends, and having the inside lined with a thick web. 

 The tubes of full-grown caterpillars of Saccophora are 

 two inches in length, and it is at this stage of growth 

 that I have generally seen them. They feed on the 

 leaves of Melastomse, and as, in crawling, the weight of 

 so large a dwelling would be greater than the contained 

 caterpillar could sustain, the insect attaches the case by 

 one or more threads to the leaves or twigs near which 

 it is feeding. 



