46 BUTTERFLIES 



stages of insect life. It was first an egg laid upon the leaf 

 by a butterfly; the egg hatched into the caterpillar or 

 larva; the larva changed to the chrysalis; the chrysalis 

 changed to the butterfly or adult insect. 



One of the most satisfactory ways to rear the caterpillars 

 of butterflies is to get the females to lay their eggs upon the 

 food plant. In the case of many species this is not diflS- 

 cult. The simplest way is to enclose the mother butterfly 

 in a small gauze bag tied over the branch of the food 

 plant. If she has eggs ready to deposit she is very likely 

 to lay them under these conditions. After they are laid 

 the mother butterfly may be allowed to escape, but it is well 

 to replace the gauze protection as a safeguard against 

 many sorts of enemies which may destroy the eggs or the 

 young caterpillars that hatch from them. Another way is 

 to enclose the butterflies with a twig of the food plant in a 

 glass jar, sealing it tight to prevent the leaves from wilt- 

 ing. The butterfly is likely after she has quieted down to 

 lay her eggs upon the leaves. According to William G. 

 Wright, who speaks from his long experience Tv^th the but- 

 terflies of the West Coast, these genera will lay their eggs on 

 anything: Parnassius, Argynnis, Euptoieta, Neonympha, 

 and all members of the family Satyridae. In these cases 

 one can get the eggs by simply enclosing the butterflies 

 in glass jars or gauze nets without even the leaves of the 

 food plant. William H. Edwards found in his long ex- 

 perience that one can get the eggs of practically all butter- 

 flies in confinement, provided only the insects are suf- 

 ficiently mature so that the eggs are ready to be laid. He 

 found that the cause of failure to get eggs from many of the 

 Fritillaries early in the season was that the eggs were not 

 mature and that from the same kinds of butterflies with 



