26 
“HOMES WITHOUT HANDS” 
BY M. C. COOKE. 
Notwithstanding tha recent and very interesting volume on this subject, it is not yet 
exhausted. Fresh facts may be gathered about what has already been done, and result 
in the contemplation of animal life in the highest phases of its intellectual or instinctive 
development. The infinite variety of means by which one end is to be attained is mar¬ 
vellous. To multiply its kind, and provide a home and shelter for its future offspring, 
is the great idea which pervades all forms of life. This is more or less elaborated in dif¬ 
ferent individuals, but in all the same object is paramount. Two or three instances 
may be given here, which possess in themselves another interest, of an economic cha¬ 
racter. 
TfvEiiala. —A singular substance has long been known in the East under the name of 
Trehala or Tricvla. It consists of oval cases from half to three-quarters of an inch in 
length, found attached by one side to twigs of a species of Syrian Eclnnops. The ex¬ 
ternal surface is rough and irregular, nearly of the colour of Sicilian manna, hard, brittle, 
and with a sweetish taste. These cases are constructed by a little beetle (^Larinus sub- 
rugosiis, Ohevr.). “ It appears that the larva of the Lcvmus collects a considerable quan¬ 
tity of saccharine and amylaceous matter, which it procures from the Eclnnops^ and that 
it constructs its dwelling by disgorging this matter and moulding it with its rostrum.” 
Each case contains only one individual, and when this has assumed its perfect form it 
emerges from the orifice at the upper end. There is much in the history and economy 
of this little insect which is still a mystery to us, but enough is known to make us wish 
for more. Analysis of these curious nests has shown that they contain gum, starch, 
and sugar in their composition, and when thrown into water, at the ordinary tempera¬ 
ture, they swell, partly dissolve, and become converted into a pasty mass. In Turkey 
and Syria they are collected and employed as food, many being sent to Constantinople 
and other Turkish cities, where they are regularly offered for sale. Some of this sub¬ 
stance was exhibited in the Turkish department of the Great Exhibition of 1851. The 
insect itself is of an oblong form and black, about three-fifths of an inch in length. Its 
snout is projecting, with the antennee attached on either side about halfway down. The 
elytra, or wing-cases, are marked on the surface by ten punctured lines, which commence 
at the upper edge and unite before reaching the opposite extremity. 
SriUKHUR-ooL-^kSHUR, or SJmJcIiur ireghal, is a very similar substance, and consists of 
the nests of just such another little beetle. In this instance the country of production 
is India, where the cases are known by the Arabic names already given ; they are far 
from common, but are collected by the natives and emploj^ed as a kind of manna. 
The plant on which they are found is the Mudar or Ashur (Calotropis gigantea, and 
probably allied species), whence the name “ Sugar of the Ashur ” is derived. Dr. Eoyle, 
in his ‘ Himalayan Botany,’ says of it—“ This is a sweetish exudation formed on the 
plant, in consequence of the puncture of an insect called Gultigal.” With but little 
modification this paragraph has been repeated by subsequent authors, and is almost 
the whole knowledge we have possessed of this substance or its fabricator. Having ob¬ 
tained specimens of the Slaihlatr from India, I succeeded in discovering one of the 
beetles still enclosed in its case, all the other cases being empty. This insect, with 
its nidus, I submitted to Mr. Smith, of the British Museum, for identification, and ho 
has declared it to be the species known as Lariniis iirsiis of Fabricius. It may now, 
therefore, be affirmed with confidence that the sweetish cases, or “sugar” of the Ca- 
lotropis is the nidus of a small beetle known in Arabic as Gultigal (v^hich, being in¬ 
terpreted, appears to mean “ flower-nest”), and to entomologists as Larinus xirsus. It 
is very much like the insect that produces the Treludu, as also is its nidus ; although I 
am not prepared to affirm that both are in reality the same species, under different names, 
but should rather be disposed to regard them as distinct. 
PooNYET.— Whilst upon the subject of “ insect-homes,” I cannot resist adverting to 
the substance, which is found in Burmah, and called Fwai-ngyet or Poonyet. It is a 
blackish resin, channelled rvith little chambers or cells, by souje species of Dammar-bee, 
and is found in holes in the ground, and in hollow trees. This resin, or wax, is em¬ 
ployed by the Burmese for caulking boats, and is constantly on sale in the bazaars. The 
resin wfliich I have seen under this name is slightly fragrant, and apparently identical 
