Séance du 17 Novembre 1920 ôU 



or 111 ICC ;il mosl (includi ni; llic linai mou 11) from January 

 Ist lo llic cnicii^cncc ol' Ihc inni^o. The lolal number ol 

 moulls in Ihc cascol" Ijnpusa ai)])cars lo he 4 or ."). 



Il is [)ossil)lc Ihal Ihc series ol" moulls is less con- 

 slanl and regular in Ihc case ol" Ihc Manlidac in ,ü;eneial 

 llian il is. Cor example, in Ihe case ol" calei'[)illars. In or- 

 der lo sol\t' Ihe problem ddinilely, il would be 

 necessary lo breed a lew of Ihese insects scparalely and 

 lo walch llicm constantly IVom the lime of balchi Ui; to 

 the t'mei\mMice ol' the iuiai^o- 



II. Larval Moults 



Hclorc each moult there is a period otpreparation 

 which lasts about two or three days. During thai lime the 

 1-jiipusa lakes no I'ood and remains (piitc still hanging 

 head downwai'ds from the si(h' of the cage. It is 

 no doubt during this [)eri()d Ihal Ihe external cuticle 

 separates little by little i)y a pr(3cess ol' delaminalion 

 from the newly formed cuticle which is destined to 

 persist. 



The moult takt's [)lace by means of a slit which 

 slrt'lches from the back of the head to the base of the 

 abdomen. It begins behind the three ocelli, s|)litting in 

 hair the mitre, the occiput, the cervical region and the 

 thoiax ( P'ig. 1 ). This slit, through which the rejuNcnated 

 lar\a is about to escape, opens out along the median 

 line ol" the cuticle lollowing a suture (line ol" least resis- 

 tance) lormcd previously lor this i)urpose(l). 



I. .\ siiiiil;n-ly silualed slil is found in Ihc cast skins 

 noi only of Ilio Orllioplcra but also of Termi les, Dragon 

 flics, (acaitiilac and generally speaking of most insects, 



