LYMANTRllM. 
459 
LymantriidM— (Liparidce). 
Proboscis aborted. Frenulum present. Forewing with vein 5 nearer 
6 than 4. Hindwing with vein 1 c., absent , vein 8 
connected to the cell by a bar. 
This family is common in both the hills and the plains, a number of 
common species occurring widely in cultivated areas. The moths are of 
stout build and usually dull colours ; the antennae of the male are 
pectinate, with spines at the tip of each branch, one of which is oblique 
and appears to preserve the position of its branch with the next. There 
is no proboscis and the moths cannot feed. The female is usually 
characterised by a large anal tuft, which is in some species used as a 
supply of hair for covering the eggs. The life-history is known in a 
number of species ; the females are usually prolific, laying many eggs 
in clusters; the larvae are hairy and are distinguished by the distinct 
erect tufts of hair on the body ; in a number of cases these hairs are 
poisonous, the point sharp and barbed so that once inserted they remain 
in the flesh which festers. Such poisonous caterpillars are characteristic 
of the hills and rare in the plains. Pupation takes place in a loose 
cocoon of silk and hair, usually on the soil among leaves and debris. 
The moths fly by night in nearly all cases. 
Hibernation appears to be passed in the pupal stage, but more has 
yet to be learnt of the seasons of these moths. The majority are found 
in the hot weather and rains, but there are several broods yearly and 
occasionally larvae are found in the cold weather. None appear to be 
definite pests to agriculture, though more than one feeds on cultivated 
plants, and it is probable that they are checked by parasites to a more 
marked extent than some other groups. 
Hampson lists over 160 species in the Fauna of India and has added 
11 since. (Jo. Bo. Nat. Hist. Soc., X, XI, XIII.) 
Lcelia includes several species, of which L. exclamationis, Kolb, 
is most likely to be found. The larva is brown with grey hair and four 
dorsal tufts of short brown hair. The moth is brown with a single black 
line on the forewing. Thiacidas postica, Wlk., is the very common hairy 
larva found on the her tree (Zizyphus jujuba). We reproduce the figure 
from Indian Museum Notes, II, PI. 2. 
