SILK-PRODUCING BOMBYCES AND OTHER LEPIDOPTERA REARED IN 1881.

By ALFRED WAILLY, Membre Laureat de la Societe d'Acclimatation de
France.


By referring to my reports for the years 1879 and 1880, which appeared
in the _Journal of the Society of Arts_, February 13 and March 5, 1880,
February 25 and March 4, 1881, it will be seen that the bad weather
prevented the successful rearing in the open air of most species of
silk-producing larvae. In 1881, the weather was extremely favorable up
to the end of July, but the incessant and heavy rains of the month of
August and beginning of September, proved fatal to most of the larvae
when they were in their last stages. However, in spite of my many
difficulties, I had the satisfaction of seeing them to their last
stage. Larvae of all the silk-producing bombyces were preserved in their
different stages, and can be seen in the Bethnal-green Museum. In July,
when the weather was magnificent, the little trees in my garden were
literally covered with larvae of more species than I ever had before, and
two or three more weeks of fair weather would have given me a good crop
of cocoons, instead of which I only obtained a very small number. The
sparrows, as usual, also destroyed a quantity of worms, in spite of wire
or fish-netting placed over some of the trees.

On the trees were to be seen--_Attacus cynthia_ (the Ailantus silkworm),
the rearing of which was, as usual, most successful; _Samia cecropia_
and _Samia gloveri_, from America; also hybrids of _Gloveri cecropia_
and _Cecropia gloveri_; _Samia promethea_ and _Telea polyphemus_;
_Attacus pernyi_, and a new hybrid, which I obtained this last season by