Figs. [224] and [225] represent, after drawings in the Memoir of M. Guérin-Méneville, already referred to, the cocoon and moth of the Attacus pernyi.
The silk which Attacus Mylitta produces is perhaps superior to that of Pernyi. When the cocoons are properly prepared, the silk can with ease be wound off from one end of them to the other. This worm is found in various parts of Bengal and of Calcutta, and also at Lahore, and its silk is exported in considerable quantities under the name of tusseh. Brownish stuffs are made of it in India of firm and bright texture, which are used for summer clothing, or for covering furniture.
Fig. 225.—Attacus (Bombyx) pernyi.
Figs. [226] and [227] represent the moth and the cocoon of Attacus Mylitta after M. Guérin-Méneville.
Fig. 226.—Attacus (Bombyx) Mylitta.
In 1855 M. de Chavannes reared this species in the open air, near Lausanne, in Switzerland. This treatment succeeded perfectly, without any degeneration, for many years. It, however, died out at last, from the effects, perhaps, of too great a difference in the climate, or from those accidents, still so little understood, to which even the insects of our own country are subject. This was unfortunate, as this species is one of those whose acclimatisation in Europe is the most to be desired, for it would render great service to the cultivators of silk.