20 



Colours Yellow and Black. 



tumn. In about a fortnight after the change to chrysalis takes place, the moths begin to 

 make their appearance. The male which comes forth from a chrys lis not more than about 

 half the size nt that which produces the female, ((/ 6g. 16 shows the chrysalis of the male, c 

 Fi:;. 1;,. that of the female), is a very pretty winged moth, see fig. 1.'), (alter liiley). Is 



antennae are beautifully feathered or pectinate, and its wings are dark 

 brown, with a white spot on e leh front wing near the inner hind angle. 

 When at rest its outline is heart-shaped, and its long front feet heavily 

 clothed with hairs and scales are thrust forward to their full length. Very 

 different indeed in appearance is hi.s mate ; the female is wingless or fur- 

 nished with but the merest rudiments of winas which no one would 

 observe without the closest inspection, she is represented at fig 16 

 resting on the cocoon from which she rarely moves more than a few 

 inches. There she waits the attendance of the male after which the 

 process cf egg depositing begins. Dr. Fitch says that the eggs are ex- 

 Fig, ifi. truded in a continuous string wLich is folded 

 and matted together so as to form iin irregular 

 mass which is glued to the top of the cocoon ; 

 on removing this mi>s of eggs from its place 

 of attachment, the surfice of the cocoon ap- 

 pears covered with fragments of a transp;ir- 

 ■nt gelatinous looking substance, which haa 

 evidently been applied in a fluid state. The 

 DOttom layer of eges w 11 usu.illy number one 

 hundred or more, and their interstices are 

 well filled with this same gelatinous miiterial, 

 which adheres ?o strongly to the eggs that 

 when the nest is torn open, they cannot be separated without bringing ;iway portions of this 

 substance firmly attached. Another irregular layer of eg^s is placed on this, then a third, and 

 .sometimes a fourth before the tot:il number is exh:iusted. and through the whole of these the 

 gelatinous raattc is so placed as to secure every egg, not by its being imb.dded in a s lid mass, 

 but surrounded by the material worked into a spongy or fr. thy st;iie. Over all is a heavy layer 

 of the same, with a nearly smooth greyish white surface, the whole number of eggs being .so 

 placed as to present a convex surface to the weather which effectually prevents the lodgment 

 of any water on it. , 



Within this enclosure from 375 to 500 eggs are securely pla.ied. We have counted the 

 contents of several and 37.5 is the lowest and 300 the highest number we have found. The 

 egg is nearly globul.ir, flattened at the upper side, not perceptibly hollowed, with a dark 

 p.int on the centre of the flattened portion surround^'d by a dusky halo. Its surface is 

 smooth under a magnifying power of 4.i diameters, but when submitted to a higher power, 

 appears li;;htly punctured with minute dots. Its colour is unif irmly white to the un lided 

 \ision, but the microscope re\'e.ils a ring of dusky yellow surrounding it immediately below 

 the flattened portion. Its diameter is -rfj of an inch. 



A careless observer seeing a dead leaf here and there upon his trees might, readily con- 

 ceive that they were blown into the position they occupied by accidi ut and ret di.ed there by 

 threads of spiders' websor sometbinu of th:it .-ort, but a clo.-er ex;iinination will furnish fo d 

 for thought, in the wise arrangements made by the parent moth, in providing for the safely 

 of her future offspring, and at the same time m ly well excite alirni in the mind of the fruit 

 grower when he perceives promise of the approaching birth of such a horde of hungry caterpil- 

 lars as even one of these egg masses will produce. 



Early in June these eggs begin to hatch and continue to h:iteh on diffi-ront trees 

 for several weeks. During the past season we found the 1 irva' about half an inch long 

 on the 3rd of July, and by the 22nd, some specimens were nearly full grown. There 

 must, however, have been earlier larva; than the.se which escaped notice, for on tlie iOih of 

 July we tbutid a freshly hatched cluster of young larv;e belonging to the second br. lod. 

 The cocoon had been made and the eggs laid between two young green leaves of a pear tree, 

 ihe following description was taken the day after. 



Lenijth one eighth of an inch. Head, reddi-h brown slightly bilobed, dotted with black 

 on the sides. Body above, yellowish green, semi-lransparent, dotted and spotted with dark 



