"5th February.

"P.P.S.-Since writing the above I have had a visit from Capt. Eills, who very kindly offered to take charge of anything I wished to send you, so I have very hurriedly put up a few of my sketches, and also two adult specimens of the hammock-moth, two of the larvæ, one pupa, eggs, &c.

"By next mail I will send you any observations I have to make on the sketches sent. I have not time now.-E. D. J." NOTES ON THE VARIOUS STAGES OF THE "HAMMOCK MOTH."

By E. DUKINFIELD JONES, C.E., CORRESPONDING MEMBER. Perophora sanguinolenta, Felder, Voy. Novara, Lep. pl. 92, f. 4. FAM. Labiocampida.*

The caterpillars of this species were found in great quantities nearly full-fed at the end of December, 1877. They feed upon a shrub belonging to the Myrtacea, which grows in abundance on the low ground at each side of the River Tieté, at São Paulo.

The caterpillar lives in a hard strong case, which is, when the caterpillar is full-fed, about five centimetres (two inches) long, and fifteen millimetres (five-eighths of an inch) in diameter at the centre. The case is formed of the excrement of the caterpillar, bound together with silk and mucilage.

The case is enlarged, as the caterpillar grows, in the following manner :-The caterpillar starts at one end and attaches pieces of excrement in a saucer-like shape, fastening them together with silk and gum. The edges of the new work are gradually brought back to about two-thirds of the length of the case, and curled up more and more, till at last

*I am indebted to my brother, Mr. Frederic Moore, of the India Museum, for determining the specimens of the Hammock Moth, sent by Mr. E. D. Jones with this paper.-T. J. MOORE.

they meet overhead (Fig. 1), and then the arch is joined up all along till it is quite closed up to the old case. The portion inside the new work is then cut away, and the enlarged case is ready for the caterpillar to increase in size. It is a remarkable fact that the excrement is not cylindrical, as in most caterpillars, but flattened at the sides, so as to adapt it for building purposes.

I procured over a hundred specimens of the insect in various stages of advancement; some just forming the last increase to the case, some full-grown, some just turning, and some already in the pupa state.

The larva is of a dull brown, or sepia, the head and thoracic legs black, or nearly so. The thoracic segments, when the caterpillar is extended from the case (Fig. 2), are very slender, while the abdominal ones are puffed out. The abdominal legs are very slightly developed, and are quite incapable of grasping anything, though they hold very tightly on to the inside of the case.

When extended and moving the body about in search of food, or for a point to fix its lines to, the resemblance to a leech is remarkable.

The first proceeding when a case is placed amongst the leaves of the shrub, after being pulled off, is for the caterpillar to fix the "hammock" by silken threads from various points to several places in the surrounding foliage. This is done by stretching out till the first pair of feet can grasp a leaf; the silk is then attached first to this, and then to the hammock. The mouth is now moved up and down this thread, adding one more filament each time, till a sufficient thickness is attained. I saw one individual spin thirty-six threads to make one cord. Then another cord is fixed to an adjoining leaf in the same way, and so on till the caterpillar is satisfied that that end is secure. The number of cords is usually from two to four. Then he turns round in the case

and puts his head out at the other end, and fixes it in the same way (Fig. 3). When both ends are secure, he goes to work and eats all the leaves within his range. When moving from one place to another, I have observed that a new line is always fixed in the direction of the desired motion before the old one in the rear is cut away. When the new line is satisfactorily fixed, the old line is cut and swallowed by the caterpillar, being devoured just as one eats a piece of celery or a radish.

The movements of the caterpillar are remarkably quick, the slightest alarm while it is extended causing it to dart back into the case. When fully extended the full-grown larva is as much as seven centimetres in length, though when retracted within the case it is not much over three centimetres. Though perfectly free within the case, and capable of turning round so that the head protrudes from either end indiscriminately in a marvellously short time, I have never seen the caterpillar entirely leave the case.

Examination with a lens shows the body to be covered with small bony plates, evidently designed to protect the insect from the friction of constantly pushing in and out of the small openings in the case.

An instance of the quick movements of the caterpillar is seen in the way it gets rid of the excrement if the hammock happens to be in such a position that it does not fall out of its own accord. The last segment is drawn up a little, and at the same time depressed, then it suddenly "lets go," and the movement literally kicks the offending matter out of the

case.

A curious habit of this caterpillar is observed in its eating. A leaf is often cut off near the stem, and the piece thus cut off is held by the feet while the caterpillar devours it, using the feet like paws (Fig. 4).

Another habit is that of making a low intermittent

musical sound when the hammock is held in the hand or the caterpillar otherwise annoyed. The sound is so faint that it can scarcely be heard unless the case is held close to the ear; but the vibrations can be distinctly felt by the fingers. Another way of showing its disapproval is by wagging its head from side to side and pulling it with a jerk into the case, slowly protruding it, jerking it in again, and so on, the action being repeated several times. When at rest, the head of the caterpillar just appears openings.

outside one of the

When full-fed, one end of the case is firmly fixed to a twig in an upright, or nearly upright, position, so that the upper curved end protects the opening from rain (Fig. 5), and, in addition to this, the opening is partially closed with a thin web. The upper end is also secured by guys to the surrounding twigs. The caterpillar remains in an active condition for several weeks after fixing the case, during which time it is employed (at night) in strengthening the case with silk, covering all inequalities till the separate pieces of excrement are quite indistinguishable.

The caterpillar is active at night only, eating, moving about, increasing the case, etc., only after dusk. During the daytime it remains dormant in the hammock.

On January 3rd, 1878, one of my specimens fell out of its case that was already permanently fixed, on to the top of my microscope box, and a few days afterwards it fixed a couple of lines from the box to the handle, evidently feeling obliged to put the guys somewhere, and not finding its own case to fix them to. After this it remained quiet, most of its time being spent with its head bent round against the body. On February 1st it died, not having strength to change to the pupa state.

In this species the case is invariably fixed above the twig, that is to say, the lower end of the case is attached; but in

another species, closely allied, the upper end is fixed to the twig, so that it hangs below the point of support.

By January 20th nearly all my specimens were full-fed.

On March 15th, the first moth (female) made its appearance, the larva of which was full-fed January 6th, and which changed to the pupa state January 22nd. After emerging, the moth remained for several days in the curious position shown in Fig. 6.

On June 7th, a second specimen, also a female, came out, behaving in the same manner as the former, and one whole day she passed wrong side up (Fig. 7). On the evening of June 17th she flew away.

But the bulk of the moths did not appear till the beginning of October, and they continued to appear till the middle of November.

It is a remarkable fact that the earlier specimens were females and the later ones mostly males. This is very unusual in Lepidoptera. The females alone behaved in the curious way mentioned above, the males always flying away the evening after they emerged from the pupa.

Although I tried to obtain fertile eggs, I was unsuccessful. Several of the moths laid eggs, but none of these produced caterpillars.

Several times male specimens entered my room while the females were apparently awaiting impregnation, but in no case did I observe any connection of the sexes.