| OCR Text |
Show INSECTA· 198 d' ental; wings eithet· d erely ru un d' . 1 s very short, an m h lower ones exten mg proboscts a :~!rizontal or tectiform, but ~=les entirely pectinated. extended an d the others; antennre of the ~ a on the tender parts laterallybeyo~ l' ·n the open air, and ee 'lk The margin The caterpillars lVe 1 ocoon of pure Sl •. M t of them form a c . h chrysalis. of plants. .osl nuli is not dentated m t e species in which the f h bdomma an · th those . o ~e a ·n form a first subgenus Wl the Phalrenre attacus of Lm-e Wl ded and horizontal, or wings are cxten nc:eus, retaining the name SATURNIA, Schr. " . h "t the .Bglire (Bombyx tau., k 'ting w1t 1 • G.1 ven to '1t by M. Schran 'um r . 1 largest species, the wmgs 1ses t lC f Ochsenheimer. It comp . ked with diaphanous spots. Fab.) o f tly fenestrate, ot mar of which are requen • B l Such are t h e h B hespert•£ la , B • cecrorr na ' the .. una, 8 Atlas of China, t e • 1 1 d into a sort of ta1 , &c. . . . are pro onge B b where the infenor wmgs . s of the same division, the om yx The silk of two other specle p1 lrena cynth·ia of Drury-Insect. . . and the tLa • • mo-mylitta of FabriciUs, ed in Bengal from tlme .Imme. II, vi, 2( 1 ), has ?een employ£ b a Chinese MS. on this subJect, . l I have satisfied mysel y h terpillars of these Bomby· rla ~to me by M. Huzard, that t Celc'ana I suspect that part of sen ·zz 'lk wo~·ms of t1, • e "t s were the Wt c st. - • • their maritime commerc cl e d b the ancients ln . k f th e the silks, procure y . ceeded from the sll o es with the inhabitants of Indta, pro caterpillars. • . bgenus(2) are found in Europe. The But five species of thls su ost common is the . ·or Fa b .• Rces., Insect. IV, m S. pavom•a maJ·o r,• B . pav.o ma umnadJ in' Franc' e. It ·lS Iu!v e m• e bes .. The largest specles fo . th a whitish spot at x.-w, xvu. 1· body brown, Wl . 1 d in width; wings extendecf. h thorax- wings round, sp.rmk e the anterior extremity o t e llated :pot, traversed by a tra~s· with grey; a large, black, oce b cure fulvous circle, by a whlt~ Parent line, surrounded by an .o s ddish and by another blac . . rcle by a second that lS re ' sem1c1 ' h · · . 1 on the middle of eac wmg. £ different trees, lS clrc e, 'll that lives on leaves o The caterp1 ar, 35 . d now in the '1) Trans. Lin. Soc.' VII, P· . fir.th has lately been dlscovcrc ' \ t' but four; a l (2) Autl1ors men.1on al th t . 5 perfectly distinct. collection of )1. BolS·Duv ' a 1 • LEPIDOPTERA. 199 green, with blue tubercles, arranged in rings from which issue long clavate hairs. In the month of August it spins an oval cocoon, narrowed into a blunt point with a double neck, the interior of which is partly formed of elastic and convergent threads that facilitate the egress of the Insect, but prevent the ingress of enemies. The silk is very strong and adhesive. The perfect insect appears in the May of the following year(l). The superior wings of the other Bombycites are tectiform, and the exterior margin of the inferior ones project almost horizontally -alre reversre-beyond them. Sometimes their palpi project in the manner of a rostrum, and their inferior wings are frequently dentated. The Insect resembles a bundle of dead leaves. These species form the genus LASIOOAMPA(2). Those, in which the inferior pal pi are not remarkably salient, compose the subgenus. BoMBYX proper(3). B. mori, L.; Rres., Insect., III, vii, ix. Whitish, with two or three obscure and transverse streaks; a lunated spot on the superior wings. The caterpillar is well known by the name of Silk-worm. It feeds on the leaves of the Mulberry, and spins an oval cocoon of a close tissue with very fine silk1 usually of a yellow colour, and sometimes white. A variety is now prei!rred, which always yields the latter. The Bombyx which produces it is originally from the north- (1) :For the other species, see Fab., Syst. Entom., first division of Bombyx; and_ Oliv., Encyc. Method., first division of the same genus. (2) The B. quercifolia, populifolia, hetulifolia, illicifolia, potaWria, of Fabricius. This subgenus fortns part of the genus Gastropacha of ()(:hsenheimer. M. Banon of Toulon, to whose friendship I am indebted for many Jnsects col· lected by him ,in Cayenne and the Levant, has giTen me a Lepidopterous Insect, having all the characters of a Lasiocampa, but furnished with a very distinct proboscis. It seems to form the passage from this subgenus to the Oalyptra of Ochsenheimer. (3) This generic appellation has been improperly suppressed by Ochsenheimer. We will apply it gene1·ically to all the species of Ius genus Gaatropacka, in which the inferior palpi do not project in the manner of a rostrum. |
