1324 THE BUTTERFLIES OF NEW ENGLAKD. 



sliarply foi-ward so that tlie spinneret reaches beyond the first pair of thoracic legs, 

 anil the silk is held in the suture made by the first and second pair of legs, the latter 

 pair beins swollen and stiff. After attaching the other end of the loop it continues to 

 move backwards and forwards until the loop is of sufficient strength. Tlie thread 

 must be kept taut the whole time and the most dilflcult part of the feat seems to be this 

 stretching of the thread. Commencing, say, at the left side : after fastening the thread 

 securely it stretches straight out for about half an inch quite rapidly (see a) ; it then 

 usually comes back vrith an undulating motion of the head, as though to bind the 

 thread; it then pulls out again and commences gradually to get towards the right, the 

 head moving up and down the whole time. The distance b occupies more time than a 

 and c together. 



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When tlio head is at the left fastening, the segments are swollen sidewise as at d and 

 vice versa as at e. After the loop is made strong enough the head is simply slipped 

 under it and the loop is then gradually worked between the second and third abdominal 

 segments. 



The clirvsalis state lasts about a fortnight or more in summer ; in 

 Florida Mr. Wittfeld found the period thirteen days ; Abbot, in Georgia, 

 fourteen days. 



About twelve or fifteen hours before emerging from the chrysalis , the change 

 in the colors of the butterfly may be clearly seen through the diaphanous 

 tegument of the chrysalis ; two or three hours before eclosion the chrysalis 

 looks as though soaked internally with some fluid, and not only are the 

 spots of the wings very evident but one may see that the ocellar promi- 

 nences and the last segment of the body are empty : occasionally the chrysalis 

 sways itself tremulously with a scarcely perceptible movement ; at the last 

 the integument of the chrysalis has a dried and wrinkled look. The but- 

 terfly generallv emerges early in the day, and the first signs of the imme- 

 diate change are strung backward and forward movements of the chrysalis 

 at intervals of a few seconds ; perhaps the third or fourth attempt will be 

 successful, when a click — the parting of the dorsal thoracic tubercle — may 

 be heard at the distance of several feet ; but all the subsequent movements 

 are absolutely noiseless, though rapid ; at intervals of three or four seconds 

 movements similar to the first carry on the process ; first the split continues 

 along the middle of the pro- and meso-thorax ; then it runs down either 

 side between the legs and wings (ultimately to the tips of the antennae) 

 and between the meso- and meta-thorax as far as the silken gii-t ; as this 

 progi-esses the actions become more strenuous and more frequently repeated ; 

 with eager eff()rts the butterfly pushes forward its half-detached head ; now 

 an antenna springs from its case, at once assimiing its natural attitude ; 

 the other soon follows and then the wings are partially drawn from their 

 sheaths, and while in this position seem to be used as levers or arms to aid 

 in withdrawing the rest of the body ; next the legs appear, seize the upper 

 part of the chrysalis skin and speedily withdraw the whole body. It is 

 now a curious looking object, the wings, especially the upper ones, are 



