40 Proceedings. 



is very elastic, pliable, and tough. Hunting for the eggs of 

 Lepidoptera is without doubt a most difficult matter, but col- 

 lectors should in spite of this do all they can in this direction, 

 for apart from the fact that eggs exist in infinitely greater 

 numbers than either larvae or pupae, we are more than 

 rewarded for our trouble in searching by being afforded an 

 opportunity of rearing the species from the egg, and thus 

 gaining a practical insight into the economy of its earlier 

 stages. Whenever eggs are found we should carefully avoid 

 touching them, and they should be placed in a cool spot, and 

 not allowed to become too dry, otherwise they will shrivel up 

 and come to nothing. 



The length of time taken by the eggs of Lepidoptera to 

 hatch varies much according to the temperature and time of 

 year ; those laid in summer hatch generally in a few weeks, 

 whilst otliers deposited in the autumn remain over until the 

 following spring. When the time for hatching has at last 

 arrived, the caterpillar inside bores away at the shell, and 

 then enlarges the hole by means of its jaws until it can creep 

 out. Many kinds before turning to their proper food make a 

 hearty meal off the shell from which they have just escaped. 



After describing the structure of caterpillars, Mr. Blaber 

 referred to their enemy, the Ichneumon Fly. He stated that 

 he once counted over three hundred grubs of the Ichneumon 

 Fly emerge from the skin of a larva of the Common Tiger 

 Moth. 



He said that the larva of the Goat Moth had been known 

 to eat its way through a piece of slieet-lead by enlarging the 

 holes that had been made for ventilation. 



Referring to the pupae, he said that in warm summer 

 months butterflies have been known to emerge from the pupa 

 in seven or ten days only, but most Lepidoptera require 

 a much longer time. There are certain species which 

 naturally now and again do not develop the moth for two, 

 three, or even five years. One of the most remarkable 

 instances of this long life in the pupa state is afforded by the 

 Small Eggar Moth {Eriogaster Lmestris), which frequently 

 fails to emerge for the first two seasons or so. It has often 



