62 THE GEELONG NATURALIST. 
it is probable its seasons may be extended for I had a cocoon og 
the common Darala in July, 1897, this turned into the perfect 
moth on October 6th, and proved to be a female; she had fasteneg 
her cocoon to the top of the bottle in which I kept her; the 
cocoon was not like that of D. underlata, and was thickly covered 
with short hairs like D. lensons both in shape and colour, tha 
male of this moth is a buff colour with two spots on the front 
wings and about half the size of the female whose body is a dea] 
thicker, but her colour is not so bright. 
Moths belonging to the Sub-section— Geometrae. 
Body generally slender; anten® often pectinated in the 
males; wings broad, similarly coloured; laye with ten legs, the 
first two pair of pro-legs being undeveloped; species of moderate 
size. The caterpillars of this group of moths in travelling form 
themselves into a loop; by raising the fore part of the body, 
reaching its full length, taking hold, then bringing the hind part 
up to, and so forming a loop; they take their name from 
Maesurers or Geometers. One of the most curious of these is 
the caterpillar of the Dunce Moth ; itis green, about an inch ang 
three quarters long, with the head portion like a dunce’s cap; it 
has a habit of fixing itself on to a twig or a leaf by its hing 
claspers, the rest of the body standing straight out atan angle of 
about 50 degrees, looking exactly like a green stick with a pointed 
end. The lave I found feeding on the gum leaves near Geelong 
in February, 1897; I fed it for several days, but it escaped from 
the bottle, but I found its chrysalis later on sweeping the room, 
and in about a month it developed into the perfect moth; the 
insect is two inches across the wings, both pair of wings being 
of a grey colour with black undulating lines across the wings, 
these being scalloped around the edge, their underside bein 
blotched with rosy brown, grey, and black. ‘The scientific name 
of the Dunce is Orypsiphona Occultaria (Don). 
Another beautiful moth belonging to this section is the 
White Satin Moth (Thalaina Clara). Thismoth I have caught in 
the Queen's Park close to the river, it is about one and a half ° 
inches across the wings, which are like white satin, the fore- 
wings crossed with bars of bright shiny copper. A second moth 
of the same family Thalaina punctilinea; this is also a very 
beautiful moth found in this district; there are several species. 
of the Satin Moth—all lovely creatures. The caterpillars 
(Anderson says) feed on the wattle and gum trees, and I would 
advise anyone who is making a collection to look up the Victorian 
Naturalist and the back numbers of the Australasian, in both 
papers of which he has given valuable information. 
