alte te HE IM eee NRE oP 
a Rm kc A A a 
THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST. 79 
or five leaves on it into a jar, and then shook the baby 
caterpillars all over it, also dropping in the bit of leaf 
with the egg shells and two of the larvae attached to it. 
In an hour or two I came back, and I found 12 larvae eat- 
ing up the egg shells. Now, it is a habit of certain species 
to always eat up the egg shells before tackling any other 
food, and this was evidently one of these species, and the 
ten little chaps had found their way back to have their 
first meal—as their instinct bade them—off the shells, be- 
fore starting on green food. I noted that the two that 
did not find the shells started eating the gum leaves with- 
out suffering any harm. 
Another incident I think shows that caterpillars, 
especially those that live in communities, make signs to 
one another. I was away from home for a few days, and 
on returning, I heard a peculiar rasping and tapping 
sound proceeding from a jar containing about 30 cater- 
pillars of the species Ocinara lewinae. On looking in, I 
found that they had eaten up all the food I had left them, 
and that some were clinging to the sides of the jar, and 
others to the dry stems, and every one was tapping vigor- 
ously with the head against that on which it happened to 
be. If they had only been on the twigs I would have 
thought they were trying to eat them; but this would 
hardly be the case with those on the glass; and it was 
strange that all should be doing it. Now, these larvae live 
.together in a web, and move about in companies when food 
runs out. So I believe that this lot were signalling to one 
another that it was time to be off to another feeding 
ground. 
NOTES AND COMMENTS. 
Insect-TRAPPING FLOWERS.—I was much interested in 
the information on this subject given by Mr. Steel, Aus- 
tralian Naturalist, Vol. II., p. 174. I examined my Rhyn- 
chospermum and found one Drone fly, Hristalis tenas, 
caught and dead on a flower. That was last year. It ‘is 
now in fiower again, and J have watched the flies, and 
also the common honey bees on it. Many of the flies 
were caught, but, after a struggle, all got free again. It 
was interesting to watch their efforts to escape, and it sur- 
prised me that they were not more injured in the strug- 
gle, for often the proboscis was twisted like a rope, and 
sometimes the head was also turned completely round. 
