ANTS AND THEIR COMPANIONS. 97 



when it will be found to be so firmly glued together by the 

 adhesive nature of its inner surface that it can be only very 

 slightly extended without tearing. When the end of the slit is 

 reached, the tail of the chrysalis gradually emerges and creeps 

 round the accumulated skin, holdhig on to it all the time, and 

 forcing its way under it till it finally dislodges the empty 

 claspers from their hold and fastens itself at exactly the same 

 spot. The chrysalis next screws itself forcibly round from side 

 to side, until by the twisting of its body, the slough, which is 

 now simply lodged between the tail and the leaf, is presently 

 pushed out on one side or the other and falls to the ground. 

 This having been effected, the body is hunched up, and a little 

 jerk causes the loop to slip so far towards the head end, that any 

 one, not having seen it before, would suppose it to be the result 

 of an unfortunate accident. Such, however, is not the case, and 

 the twisting motion is again continued, causing the silken loop 

 to bury itself in the soft and yielding substance of the body. 

 The chrysalis is now a misshapen-looking greenish yellow object, 

 but in the course of a few hours the upper parts, and especially 

 the wings, develop in a wonderful manner, and assume their 

 permanent character. In about twenty-four hours the colour 

 will have changed to a vivid green, unless indeed the chrysalis is 

 formed in a box or ill-lighted.room, when the green permanently 

 retains somewhat of a yellowish hue. 



In the natural state, I have invariably found the chrysalis 

 affixed to the back of a leaf, and never once on the food-plant. 

 The caterpillars appear to prefer a rough-leaved plant, such as 

 the bramble, lantana, &c., probably as affording a better hold to 

 the silk. 



[The ovum of Oruithoptcra richmondii is globular, with the 

 base flattened and sunken in the centre ; it is widei' than high, 

 measuring one-eleventh of an inch in diameter and one-fourteenth 

 of an inch in height; the surface is slightly granular. — F. W. F.] 



ANTS AND THEIR COMPANIONS. 

 By C. W. Dale, F.E.S. 



Ants have been known ever since the days of Solomon as 

 being a little people but extremely wise. They were accredited 

 by the ancients with carrying on harvesting operations, which 

 have since been discredited, but have been proved to be fully 

 correct by the researches of Moggridge in the South of France, 

 Forel, and others. They resemble the lords of creation in 

 another particular, that of keeping slaves and pets, and that is 

 what I am going to draw special attention to. 



