236 
NATURE NOTES. 
few individuals which have been obtained by me is there any 
trace of sounding organs. It is a handsome insect, the broad 
thorax and upper wings being of a reddish brown tint, the latter 
beautifully veined. The legs are covered with down, the feet 
being armed with strong hooks, which enables them to cling 
with great tenacity to any rough material. The ocelli are three 
in number, ruby red, and very conspicuous in front of the head. 
On each side of the thorax is a short thick spine, apparently for 
defence, as the insect, if irritated, makes sidelong lunges at the 
annoying object. Empty nymph cases of these cicadas are 
among the commonest objects of the bush, adhering to tree 
trunks, and especially to the stems of “man ferns” {Dicksonia 
antarctica), the rough fibrous exterior of which offers a strong 
foothold for the ascent of the insect from the ground, preparatory 
to entering the perfect state. There is always a little slit in 
the top of the thorax and fore part of abdomen, whence the 
departure has taken place, otherwise the cases are quite perfect, 
and at a little distance appear alive. Both sorts are found, but 
strange to say, those of the larger and finer species are the more 
numerous, the infrequency with which the perfect insects them- 
selves are encountered being due in all probability to their 
nocturnal habits. Timid caterpillars in little bags woven of silk 
and charred bark are very numerous on the trunks of stringy 
barks {Eucalyptus ohliqua). They can scarcely be noticed when 
crawling on the tree trunks, the thick fibrous bark of which is 
generally in a charred condition outside, owing to the running 
hres of summer. The little larvae are thus doubly protected : 
firstly, by the resemblance between their homes and the surface 
whereon they dwell ; secondly, by the very tough nature of the 
cases themselves, which can hardly be pulled asunder. Having 
deprived one of these curious little creatures of its home, and 
placed it in a bottle with some fragments of bark, I found that 
in the course of a day it had constructed a second home, not a 
neat little bag like the first, but one from which long pieces of 
bark stuck out in all directions, causing the structure, when in 
motion, to resemble a miniature porcupine. 
H. Stuart Dove. 
Table Cape, Tasmania. 
Stock-Doves. — To-day I examined my homes up in the trees in the fields, 
and found three occupied, all containing eggs. Several pairs of young have been 
reared and gone off. One of the nests contained three eggs apparently quite 
fresh, flow can we account for this? Do pigeons ever lay more than two eggs 
at a sitting ? I believe I have noticed the same occurrence some years ago, but 
am not sure whether three young were reared 
J. HiAM. 
