fitions. It feeks the obfcurity of the foreft in the day, and only ventures on the wing when the fun is down.
In Europe we viiit its nofturnal haunts without difficulty or dread; b u t in hotter climates thefe are oftentimes
impenetrable, or the lurking places o f ferocious animals; and few will expofe themfelves to their
attacks, to increafe the catalogue of exotic Phalænæ p.
Phalæna Atlas is the firft fpecies we have to notice. It is the largeft o f the moth tribe q, and is, indeed,
a gigantic creature. The fpecies is common, but not peculiar to China, being found in otlier parts
o f Afia, and in America. The influence o f climate is eafily traced in the varieties from different countries;
that from Surinam is the largeft, and of the deepeft colours. The Chinefe kind is the next in fize; the
colours incline to orange, and the anterior wings are more falcated or hooked at the ends. We have two
other Afiatic varieties ftill fmaller, with the wings extremely falcated.
The larva of Phalæna Atlas is figured by M . Merian, in the InfeAa Surinantenjia, plate 52 : it is about
four inches m length, green, with a yellow ftripe difpofed longitudinally. Upon each fegment are four
diftinft round tubercles o f a coral-like orange colour, which are furrounded with very delicate hairs. The
pupa is large, and is inclofed in a web o f an ochre colour. The filk o f this web is o f a ftrong texture,
and it has been imagined, i f woven, would be fuperior in durability to that o f the common filk worm.
Seba has alfo reprefented th e larva a t fig. l. plate 57. vol. 4. Thefaurus Naturæ. I t is nearly fix inches
in length, and bulky in proportion; the Phalæna is alfo larger than that figured by Merian, which is a
P The far greater number of Phalænæ can only be taken in the woods at night. This is termed muthing by colleftors. The
moths begin to ftir about twilight, and when almoft dark, commence their flight. The colleftor is furniihed with a large
gauze folding-net, in which the infefts are caught indifcriminately, for it is impoflible to diftinguifli one fpecies from another,
and often is fo dark, that the objeft itfelf can barely be difcerned. Different fpecies have their favourite haunts, fome the
lanes, and (kirts o f woods, but many of them prefer the open breaks in the moft retired places. As it would be unfafe, or impoflible,
to penetrate the woods in many countries, it it better to colleft the larva, or caterpillar, for thefe may be found on
the trees in day-time, and if kept in little gauze cages, and carefully fed, will change into chryfalis, and produce the fly.
This is certainly tedious, and few travellers will divert their attention from more important obfervations ; but were they to
appropriate their leifure to this branch o f fcience, they would materially improve entomology. Mr. Abbot has inveftigated a
fmall diftrift of Georgia, in North America, in this manner, and our cabinet is indebted to his labours for feveral hundred
fpecies, altogether new in Europe. The reader may eftimate the importance of thefe difcoveries, by referring to the two
expenfive volumes of North American Infefts, lately publifhed ; and reflefting, that the originals of all the fpecies included in
that work, are but a fmall feleftion from thofe he has furniihed us with. Viewing thefe as the refult of one man's refcarch, in
an inconfiderable portion o f North America, what a variety of new and fplendid kinds would be the reward of thofe, who
ihould explore the more genial regions of Afia, Africa, and South America, with equal diligence and information !
We have hazarded an affertion which may feem inadmiifible, that thc Phalænæ are infinitely more numerous than the
Papiliones, or any other tribe o f infefts. Not that we poflefs more ; but becaufe, in every country that has been inveftigated,
experience juftifies fuch opinion. For inftance, in Great Britain, we have only fixty Papiliones, and by mere accident two
or three local fpecies have lately been added ; of the Phalænæ we have more than OOO. The fame comparative proportion is
obferved throughout the countries of the European continent; and it is Angularly analogous, that our opinion is confirmed,
by the recent difcoveries o f Mr. Abbot in America alfo.
H When Linnæus defcribed it, few of the very large fpeeies o f Phalæna were known. We have two fpecies from the interior
of Africa, that are larger than the Chinefe var. of Atlas, and feveral others fcarcely inferior in magnitude.
fmall fpecimen o f the Surinam kind. According.to Merian, there are three broods o f this infeft in a year;
they are very common, and feed on the orange trees. Linnæus fays, they adhere fo tenacioufly to the
leaves, th at they can fcarcely be taken off *■.
The common filk worm, or Phalæna Mori, is o f this family, and merits obfervation as a native of
China. The art of weaving its threads into filk is o f the earlieft date. T h e difcovery is attributed to the
Seres, a people of the Eaft Indies, fuppofed the Chinefe In the days of Solomon, we are told, a woman •
named Paraphilia, of the Ifland of Co, was Ikilled in the art of making cloth, o f the filk brought
from the country o f the Seres. The moft ancient of the Chinefe writers afcribe the invention to one of the
women of the emperor Hoang ti, named Si ling, and in honour Yuen f e i j . When Rome degenerated into
voluptuoufnefs, Perfia, its dependency, furniihed this article o f luxury; but it is fuppofed they were indebted
to the Chinefe for it, and being fupplied only in fmall quantities, it was confequently dear. In
Rome it was fo fcarce, as to be worn only by perfons o f the firft diftinftion.
The Chinefe hiftorians affirm, that the difcovery was confidered at firft o f fuch importance, that all
thc women in the palace of the emperor were engaged in rearing the infeft, and weaving its filk. In after
times, the filk o f China was a principal article of commerce, but latterly its value has been materially
leffened, by the culture and fabrication of filk in other countries. As the Chinefe know little o f the ufe
of linen, the filk is a ftaple article o f their own confumption. The jefuit miffionaries mention feveral
forts of it, in ufe among the Chinefe ; fome admired for beauty, and others for durability. I t is generally
fuppofed thefe are not merely the eft'eft of different manufafture, but are th e produce o f diftin
ft infefts “. Sir G. Staunton fpeaks o f the culture o f filk worms in China, but only o f the common
fort. It will gratify curiofity, i f not prove advantageous, ftiould future obfervers afcertain what kind o f
f Larva verticillata verrucis pilofis nec follicules grandes, tenaces, v is extricandos. Ltnn. Syfi. Nai.
Velleraque ut foliis depectant tenuia Seres. Vtrg. Georg. II. 122.
•D u H a ld e , Des Soyeries. Les plus anciens écrivans de cet Empire, en attribuent la découverte à une des femmes de
l’Empereur Hoang ii, nommée -S’; ting, et furnommée par honneur Yueit f e i.
V M. Merian fays, in the defcription o f the Surinam variety o f Phalæna Atlas : “ Telam diicunt fortem, quare bonum fore
fericum rata, iftius aliquam collegi copiam & in Belgium tranfmifi, ubi eadem optima judicata eft: ut itaque, ft quis Erucas
iftas congregandi laborem non detreftaverit, et bonæ notæ bombycem, et maximum hinc lucrum iibi comparare poflet.”
The thread o f which this coccon's web is compofed, is fo ftrong, that it has been im agined it would make good filk. I have
brought fome of it into Holland, which has been efteemed fuch. So that if any one would take the trouble to collcfit a number
of thefe caterpillars, they would be found good filk worms, and produce great profit. M e r ian .—Abbot informs us, the Moths
of the Emperor tribe, in general, are called Silk worms by the people of Georgia, and in the defcription o f Phalæna cecropia, is
ftill more explicit : for he fays, “ the caterpillar fpins on a twig. The outiide web is coarfe, the inner covered with filk, like
a filk worm's coccon. It is faid this filk has been carded, fpun, and made into ftockings, and that it will wafh like linen.”
Abbot's Inf. by Dr. J . E. Smith.—Thefc infefts are all of the fame natural order, P. Cecropia is rather fmaller, but very fimilar
to P. Atlas, and this information at leaft corroborates the aflertion of Merian.
An opinion, that the Chinefe rear feveral kinds of infeéts for the fake of their filk, has long been prevalent. Dr. Lettfom
propofes a query on this fubjeft, “ Which fpecies of moth or butterfly is it, the caterpillar of which, in China, affords that
ftrong grey kind of filk, and how is it manufaftured or wore.’ How are thefe filk worms or caterpillars preferved, fed, and
managed ? The introduftion of fuch a new filk into England would be a ufeful acquifition, and redeem entomology from the