Ɛpsilon

To T. B. Leffen   7 May 1873

Down, | Beckenham, Kent.

May 7 1873

Dear Sir

I write merely to thank you for your note & information, & to express a hope that you may receive benefit from your present residence. I had previously heard of the Australian caterpillars; but no one knows how they cause such severe pain.1 In Africa there is a species believed to belong to the same genus, which is so venomous that if a hand touches a surface previously touched by the caterpillar, dreadful inflammation follows over nearly the whole surface of the body.

With my thanks & hopes for your recovery I remain | dear Sir | yours faithfully | Ch. Darwin

LS

1
Leffen’s letter has not been found. He probably wrote in response to CD’s discussion of the protective mechanisms of caterpillars in Descent 1: 416. Leffen may have written about caterpillars of cup moths (Limacodidae), which have retractable stinging spines that cause irritation, and are fairly common in Australia.
2
This letter was pasted into a volume of the diary of George Frederick Belcher, who noted on the verso of the letter that it was given to him on 4 April 1874 by Leffen.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-8903,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-8903