Fig. 223.—Attacus (Bombyx) Yama-Maï.
[Fig. 221] represents the larva, or caterpillar, two-thirds natural size; [Fig. 222], the cocoon, drawn on the same scale; and [Fig. 223], the moth.
In 1866, M. Camille Personnat published a very interesting monograph of Yama-Maï, which may be consulted with profit by both cultivators of silk and naturalists. [66]
Attacus pernyi yields a remarkably beautiful silk, fine, strong, and brilliant, which can be spun and dyed with great ease. The tissues obtained from it partake of the qualities of ordinary silk, of wool, and of cotton. This species of Attacus, which is reared on the oak in Mandchouria, has given rise to great hopes in France. The cocoons and moths of this worm were exhibited for the first time at the Universal Exhibition of 1855. They were reared by M. Jordan, of Lyons, from some cocoons sent over from China by the missionaries. It is much to be desired that this species may be acclimatised in Europe.
Fig. 224.—Cocoon of Attacus (Bombyx) pernyi.