MOTHS OF THE LIMBERLOST 



yard from the tomato vines, and six inches below the 

 surface. He came to my desk carrying on a spade a 

 ball of damp earth larger than a quart bowl. With all 

 care we broke this as nearly in halves as possible and found 

 in the centre a firm, oval hole, the size and shape of a 

 hen's egg, and in the opening a fine fresh pupa case. 



It was a beautiful red-brown in colour, long and slen- 

 derer than a number of others in my box of sand, and had 

 a long tongue case turned under and fastened to the pupa 

 between the wing shields. The sides of the abdomen 

 were pitted; the shape of the head, and the eyes showed 

 through the case, the wing shields were plainly indicated, 

 and the abdominal shield was in round sections so that 

 the pupa could twist from side to side when touched, 

 proving that the developing moth inside was very much 

 alive and in fine condition. 



There were no traces of the cast skin. The caterpillar 

 had been so strong and had pushed so hard against the 

 surrounding earth that the direction from which it had 

 entered was lost. The soil was packed and crowded 

 firmly for such a distance that this large ball was forced 

 together. Trembling with eagerness I hurriedly set up 

 a camera. This phase of moth life often has been de- 

 scribed, but I never before heard of any one having been 

 able to reproduce it, so my luck was glorious. A care- 

 ful study of this ball of earth, the opening in which the 

 case lies, and the pupa, with its blunt head and elaborate 



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