MISCELLANEOUS GROUP.
Salassa Lola, Westwood, Sikkim Himalayas.
Rinaca Zuleika, Hope, Sikkim.
Rhodia Newara, Moore, Nepal Kathmandu. Worm feed upon a species of weeping willow. Spins brilliant green cocoon pendent from the twigs.
Caligula Tibeta; Westwood', Mussoori, N.W. Himalayar 7000 feet. Common, the worms feeding on Andn meda ovalifolia, wild pear, and the cultivate quince, forming a light, open, net-like cocoon.
Caligula Simla, Westwood, Simla, N.W. Himalaym 5000 feet. Feeds on the walnut, Salix Babylonics wild pear, etc. • forms an open, net-like cocoon.
Caligula Cachara, koore, Cachar.
Neoris Huttoni, Moore, Mussoori, N.W. Himalaya 6500 feet. The worms appear in April, feedin upon a species of wild pear tree. Spins a thi silken cocoon.
Neoris shadulla, Moore, Yarkand.
Neoris Stoliczkana Felder, Ladakh.
Saturnia Cidosa, 'Moore, hot valleys of the Sikkii Himalayas.
Saturnia Grotei, Moore, Sikkim Himalayas.
Saturnia Lindia, Moore, Sikkim Himalayas.
Saturnia Anna, Moore, Sikkim Himalayas.
Loepa katinka, Westwood, Sikkim, 5000 to 7000 feet Assam.
Loepa Sikkima, hfoore, hot valleys of Sikkim.
Loepa sivalica, Hutton, Mussoori, 5000 feet. Spins long cocoon, pointed at each end, and of a dar greenish-grey colour.
Loepa miranda, Moore, Sikkim Himalayas.
Cricula trifenestrata, Helfer., the Haumpottonee of th Assamese. Noted as being very commom in Assarr the worms feeding on the soorn tree, forming a. open, net-like cocoon of a beautiful yellow colon and of a rich lustre, the silk being spun in the sam manner as the Eria cocoon. Occurs also in Mon] mein, where the worms are stated to feed upon th, cashew-nut tree (Anacardium orientale).
Cricula drepanoides, Moore, Sikkim.
Antherrea Pernyi, Guer. 2Ifen., the oak-feeding silk worm of Manchuria, N. China. This is describe( as having been long known to the Manchur Tartars very large quantities of the silk being used amom the Chinese. The worms feed on various specie of oak (Quercus mongolica), etc., the cocoon differirq from the tasar in form and texture. The silk it represented as strong, but with little lustre. Twi crops of silk are produced in the year —a spring an( autumn crop. A. Pernyi is success'fully reared ir France, the eggs hatching at almost freezing point The silk is much cultivated and used in Japan Its fibre is oval, and 950th of an inch thick.
Antherma Confuci, Moore, a species allied to A. Pernyi
inhabiting the hills in the neighbourhood of Shang hai, N. China.
Antherma Yama-mai, Guerin Meneville, the Yama mai silk-worm of Japan. This worm feeds on th( oak, and produces excellent silk of considerabh commercial value in Japan, forming a cocoon of a pale yellowish-green colour. It has been ac climatized in Europe, and crossed with Bombyx attacus.
Saturnia pyretorum from South China. The worm feeds upon the Liquidamber formosana in Canton, Amoy, Where the silk is stated to be woven into a coarse fabric.
Theophila mandarina, Moore, N. China.
634 The silk-worm has four motamorphostest,—egg, caterpillar, chrysalis or nymph, and moth or aurehae. The threads as spun by the silk-worm, and wound up into cocoons, aro all twins, in con sequence of the twin orifice in the lip of tho insect, through which they aro projected. Those two threads are laid parallel t,o each other, and are glued more or less evenly together by a kind of glossy varnish, which alwaya envelopes them, constituting nearly 25 per cent. of their weight.
In China, while the worms aro growing, care is taken to keep them undisturbed, and they are often changed from one hurdle to another that they may have roomy and cleanly places; the utmost atten tion is paid to the condition and feeding of the worms, and noting the time for preparing them for spinning cocoons. Three days are required for them to spin, and in six it is dine to stifle the larva, and reel tho silk from the cocoons ; but this being usually done by other workmen, those who rear the worms enclose the cocoons in a jar buried in the ground and lined with mats and leaves, interlaying them with salt, which kills the pupm, and keeps the silk supple, strong, and lustrous. Preserved in this manner, they can be transported to any &stance, or the reeling, of the silk can be delayed till convenient. Another mode of de stroying the cocoons is to spread them on trays and expose them by twos to the steam of boiling water, putting the upper in the place of the lower one, according to the degree of heat they are in, taking care that the chrysalides are killed, and the silk not injured. After exposure to steam, the silk can be reeled off immediately, but if placed in the jars, they must be put into warm water to dissolve the glue before it can be unwound.