io6 



on the terminal needles disclosed them in groups ranging from 

 3 to 22 in number, deposited in a row on the needles, the eggs 

 not being set upright, but at an angle of about forty-five degrees, 

 overlapping each other like shingles, and apparently thoroughly 

 cemented together. Those found were on young trees which 

 had not been touched by the first brood of caterpillars. A female 

 found in copula in the morning was imprisoned about two o'clock 

 on a pine fascicle, and by six o'clock had laid i6 eggs in a con- 

 tinuous row. These were pale green, ovate, with a small white 

 coronet or raised circular ridge at the top, and somewhat flat- 

 tened on the sides that touched each other. 



TJie Larva. — The earlier stages did not pass under review, 

 but there is no reason to suppose that they differ materially from 

 those about to pupate, which alone came under our observation. 

 Just as the eggs were not laid on the extreme terminal needles, 

 so the larva does not commence feeding on the youngest, and, 

 supposedly, the most succulent needles, but on those which form 

 the base of each terminal fascicle, continuing its devastation to- 

 wards the tip ; but even in cases where all the needles have been 

 denuded, in no case was the terminal bud touched ; indeed, the 

 needles are only devoured down to the dry sheath which encases 

 their base. On many trees all the needles were gone ; on many 

 others there yet remained a few of the terminal ones, and such 

 trees, as Dr. Hagen suggested, conveyed the idea of immense 

 candelabra. It is evident that many of the larva; pupate on the 

 few remaining needles, where such exist, invariably with the head 

 uppermost ; but many forsake the parent tree, and these are prob- 

 ably such as have consumed all the food in their immediate vicin- 

 ity. While many larvae were found ascending the trunks of the 

 larger trees, but very few were found descending them, while a 

 large number were seen hanging at the end of long silken threads, 

 swaying to and fro in the wind. Experiments on these by Mr. 

 Henshaw and myself fully proved the fact that the larva lets itself 

 down from high trees by means of this thread to the ground, 

 abnormal as the habit is among the butterflies. In one case, 

 where the thread was fully 50 feet in length, I passed my hand 

 beneath the larva, to satisfy myself that it was not descending a 

 spider thread already woven (of which I had a suspicion on 

 account of the great number of threads over the bark of the larger 

 trees), and found no connection with the ground ; I then caught 

 the thread above and the larva descended gently, while swaying 

 in the wind, but detached itself directly it touched the first object. 

 Mr. Henshaw obtained the same results. Among the larvae which 

 thus re^h the ground it is evident that many attempt to regain 

 the upper limbs, for I found several trees which had been girdled 

 by stripping off the bark over a length of some four feet, and on 

 such trees several hundred larvae had been caught on the sticky, 

 resinous surface thus exposed. Perhaps the most extraordinary 



