46 



Haase of Königsberg i. Pr. On p. G, Ratzeburg compares the somites 

 of the chrysalis with the somites of the caterpiUar. He assigns to the 

 abdomen of the latter nine somites only, as is clear also from p. 4. 

 Speaking of the three terminal abdominal somites, he says, »Letztere 

 scheinen in der Puppe zwar vier zu sein (also der ganze Hinterleib 

 zehnringelig), allein das kommt nur daher, daß der After sich besonders 

 abschnürte. Dicht vor der Afterspalte liegt die Geschlechtsspalte. Bei 

 der männlichen Puppe setzt sie sich aber in den vorletzten King fort, 

 während sie bei der weiblichen auf den letzten beschränkt ist (z. B. 

 T. Xn Fig. 3, 4 jO; . So kann man, meiner JJeobachtung zufolge, 

 männliche und weibliche überall in der Puppe unterscheiden (s. die 

 zahlreichen Abbildungen «. In commenting on this passage, it may be 

 pointed out, first that the abdomen of the caterpillar and chrysalis 

 is composed of 1 somites as is proved conclusively by anatomical con- 

 siderations, and secondly that Katzeburg's description would be 

 more correct in reality if what he says of the male were said of the 

 female. The particular figures to which he refers are unfortunately 

 small, but they appear to bear out his words. Others, however, of his 

 figures, e. g. Taf. XIV figs. 4/? (^ and 4 /> O , Taf. XVI figs. 1 p, 2 p, 

 Zp, show with greater exactitude, the male aperture in the ninth 

 somite i.e. the one in front of the anal somite, and the female aperture 

 in the eighth somite i. e. in the second somite in front of the anal. 

 Ratzeburg figures in his first plate the female pupa of immensa poly- 

 cMoj'os : all his other examples are taken from Heterocera Avith the 

 two female apertures confluent, and he has failed to notice the peculiar 

 forward extension of the ninth abdominal sternum into the eighth 

 sternal region which is so characteristic of Heterocera in general. 



O. Wilde's account is given in his »Systematische Beschreibung 

 der Raupen unter Angabe ihrer Lebensweise und Entwicklungszeiten^, 

 Th. II, Berlin, 1S61. This work was put into my hands by my friend 

 Mr. Heron of the Insect Department, Natural History Museum 

 (British Museum: . In turning over the plates illustrative of the second 

 part, which represent chrysalids only, I noticed that Wilde attaches 

 to many of the figures the signs used to indicate sex. The figures them- 

 selves show that a difference exists in some instances between the cre- 

 master of the two sexes, but on p. 4 of the »Introduction« Wilde 

 mentions that the male ])upa may be identified by the antennae when 

 the latter are ])ectinated — a well-known fact — , and then continues 

 to say that the male also has »in dor Mitte der üauclifläche des 

 letzten Ringes, zwei kleinere, durch eine Längsfurche getrennte 

 Höckerchen, wälirend die Stelle bei der weii)li(hen Puppe geglättet, 

 dagegen aber hinter dem Einschnitt, zwischen dem siebenten und achten 



