THE discussion, a few months since, of the feigning of death in reptiles (vols. li. pp. 107, 128, 223, and lii. p. 148), induced me to experiment on the Currant Moth, whose powers of “shamming” are so familiar. The moth was first seized by one wing, and it at once feigned death; thereupon I cut off its head with a pair of scissors, and the animal continued to feign death. I use the expression advisedly, for absolute immobility was maintained for some seconds, and then violent fluttering ensued, causing the animal to rush wildly about the table, but failing to lift it into the air. In this condition any impulse, such as touching or pinching, induced a repetition of “shamming.” After a strong stimulus the shamming was prolonged, and indeed a direct connection was obvious between the strength of stimulus and the length of period of quiescence. This power of response to stimulus was maintained for two days, and then weak fluttering set in for some hours, followed by death. Our entire ignorance of the physiology of the nervous system of insects renders it difficult to draw complete conclusions from these phenomena; nevertheless, it is difficult to conceive that volition can persist for forty-eight hours in a decapitated animal. We are forced then to conclude that here, at any rate, death-feigning is a purely reflex phenomenon, and that the sensory stimulus received by the surface of the body causes inhibitory impulses to arise reflexly from the ganglia of the central nerve chain, and prevent all movement of the locomotor muscles. In confirmation of this, it may be mentioned that denuding the wing of its scales over any area caused a marked diminution of sensitiveness over the area so treated. Since all stages between sensory hairs and ordinary scales occur in Lepidoptera, it is not unreasonable to assume that the scales still function as tactile end-organs, in spite of their modification subserving decorative purposes.