Curious Facts in the History of Insects; Including Spiders and Scorpions. / A Complete Collection of the Legends, Superstitions, Beliefs, and Ominous Signs Connected with Insects; Together with Their Uses in Medicine, Art, and as Food; and a Summary of Their Remarkable Injuries and Appearances.

by Frank Cowan

Psychidæ—Wood-carrying Moth, etc.

The larvæ of the Wood-carrying Moth (of the genus Oiketicus, or Eumeta, Wlk.) of Ceylon, surround themselves with cases made of stems of leaves, and thorns or pieces of

twigs bound together by threads, till the whole resembles a miniature Roman fasces; in fact, an African species of these insects has obtained the name of “Lictor.” The Germans have denominated the group Sackträger, and the Singhalese call them Darra-kattea or “billets of fire-wood,” and regard the inmates, Tennent says, as human beings, who, as a punishment for stealing wood in some former state of existence, have been condemned to undergo a metempsychosis under the form of these insects.[855]