478 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol. 10 



other and to the surface on which they are deposited by a clear mucil- 

 aginous substance which gradually changes to a dark brown in color 

 after it has been exposed to the air for a few days. 



The number of eggs in a mass vary considerably, ranging from 150 

 to 300. This difference in numbers would lead one to suspect that 

 in many instances the female does not deposit all her eggs at one time, 

 but only deposits part in one place and later finds a suitable place to 

 deposit the remainder. 



The portions of the eggs not heavily coated with the cementing 

 substance is white with a yellowish tint when first deposited but be- 

 comes grayish in color after a few days' exposure to the air. About 

 3 to .5 days before hatching a small dark spot appears in the center of 

 each egg. 



The egg stage extends over a period of from 25 to 30 days duration. 

 At the end of this period the young caterpillars eat their way out of 

 the egg shells and emerge head first. 



The caterpillars that have emerged from all egg masses that have 

 been hatched in the Laboratory have eaten the egg shells and all the 

 gummy material used in fastening the eggs together soon after they 

 have emerged. Nearly all parts of the shells are eaten excepting the 

 part cemented to the leaf or surface to which they are fastened. Eggs 

 from which the young caterpillars have not yet emerged are not eaten 

 by those already hatched. 



When bred in jars the young caterpillars after making their first 

 meal on the shells from which they have emerged soon begin to travel 

 around the sides of the jar in lines of single file, each close behind the 

 other, and leaving a small trail of silk behind them. This is continued 

 sometimes until the inside of the jar is about completely lined with 

 silken floss. 



During this stage when the newly emerged caterpillars that have 

 hatched away from a cocoanut tree are endeavoring to reach their food 

 supply, a great many are undoubtedly destroyed by birds, toads, 

 lizards, ants, etc., and it is not likely that very many ever do succeed 

 in reaching a cocoanut tree, and those that emerge from eggs deposited 

 on the trees are the ones that are responsible for the greater amount 

 of damage done, and for the succeeding generations, but even if a very 

 few of the young traveling caterpillars do reach a tree that is not 

 already infested they can lay the foundation for a considerable amount 

 of damage. 



For some time after emerging the caterpillars do not seem to cause 

 any appreciable amount of damage, but as they continue to grow the 

 damage likewise grows in proportion, and when full grown the numbers 

 in a large nest can destroy nearly all the foliage on a tree in a few nights, 

 and it is at this time that they attract attention the most. 



