290 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST 



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Suddenly he rose and fell, as if heaving a deep sigh. Then 

 he began a curious swaying movement, round and round, or from 

 side to side, much like the movement of a bear. 



At last, the skin at the back of his neck cracked open, and his 

 motion became more violent. Extending himself to his greatest 

 length he raised his first pair of legs, the others moving also, but 

 not to such extent, as if praying for help. Then he drew down, 

 down, till he seemed to crouch in despair. 



Keenly excited now I gently opened the cocoon-window 

 wider, and now the reason for the decorations of gaudy tubercles 

 was explained. 



As he moved in the various directions the spines rubbed 

 against the wall of the cocoon, and thus aided him in discarding 

 the larval skin. The crack in the skin had meanwhile greatly 

 lengthened, and the head parts and leg cases slowly slid downward. 

 It was very much like a child taking off a frock after the back is 

 unbuttoned. 



Now appeared to my enraptured gaze a totally new creature. 

 A creature of soft, velvety folds of a golden yellow, with gelatine 

 legs and heavy antennae (it was evidently a male). The wings, 

 as if folded many times, lay in thick clumps on the body, and the 

 lower body wore the stripes of the perfect moth. 



The swaying motion still kept on, the skin moving ever down- 

 ward till neatly packed away, it formed the masque or cushion 

 found in the empty cocoons. 



Now from the segments of the body and seemingly from 

 openings about the head, a yellow varnish began to exude, which 

 gradually covered the whole creature; smoothing down the an- 

 tennae and legs, and levelling the wings with the body, till all the 

 parts looked as if covered with yellow glass. 



The change of form commenced at about nine o'clock in the 

 evening. It was two o'clock in the morning when completed. 

 The pupa still moved faintly, and was quickly turning a dark 

 brown. 



I sealed up the cocoon carefully, and put it away in a cold 

 place to await further de\elopments. 



In June the moth came out in perfect order, none the worse 

 for the evening's education it had afforded me. 



