August 1S01. 



PSTCHE. 



125 



position upon a twig, supported only 

 by its two pairs of prolegs, the body 

 at an angle of about forty-five degrees 

 with the terminal segments. In this 

 position it may remain a long time. 



Its general color is a greenish lemon 

 yellow or straw color. The body is largest 

 at the seventh abdominal segment, and 

 tapers very regularly and gently in each 

 direction, the head being scarcely broader 

 than the first thoracic segment. The head 

 has the mouth parts white, a transverse se- 

 ries of three black dots on the frontal triangle, 

 and on each lobe of the head a series of four 

 similar dots arranged in a quadrilateral. 

 The body is marked by several longitudinal 

 series of very delicate reddish brown lines, 

 two on either side above and three on either 

 side below the spiracles, those above being 

 apparently latero-dorsal and infralateral, the 

 latter the finer; the first thoracic segment 

 bears a rounded dorsal shield with four black 

 dots arranged in a quadrilateral, and on 

 either side of each thoracic segment is a sin- 

 gle, on that of each abdominal segment a 

 pair, of short, transverse, black spots (one 

 in front of and one behind the spiracle) the 

 lower ends of which are on the stigmatal line ; 

 each of the legs has a pair of black dots and 

 each of the prolegs two vertical series of sim- 

 ilar dots, the hinder series of the hindmost 

 pair forming a triangular cluster, its apex 

 downward ; the last segment has an arcuate 

 series of four black dots, opening forward, 

 besides a cluster of smaller ones at the ex- 

 treme posterior margin, and the penultimate 

 a transverse series of four dots next the pos- 

 terior edge, two subdorsal and two stigmatal ; 

 spiracles marked by a black dot encircled 

 with milky white. Length 45 mm. 



The cocoon is an ovate open-meshed 

 net about 25 mm. long by S mm. in 

 greatest breadth, made of shining yellow 

 silk ; the meshes are so open that the 



caterpillar in making the cocoon can 

 thrust its head through any of them, 

 yet on completion the cocoon is rigid 

 and yields to handling less than many 

 compact cocoons, so stiff are the threads. 

 It is also strengthened by the guys which 

 attach it to the surrounding foliage. 

 When completed, it is much shorter 

 than the enclosed caterpillar, which is 

 obliged to lie in a cork-screw-like posi- 

 tion until his change occurs, and then 

 by his contortions he contrives to eject 

 the cast skin through the meshes of 

 the cocoon. 



The chrysalis is of a white color, though a 

 pale pea-green tint suffuses the thorax and 

 appendages, especially on the ventral side, 

 and the abdominal segments are edged pos- 

 teriorly with lemon yellow, except the last two 

 which are black. There are also some other 

 distinctive marks : the head is covered with 

 short curved irregular lines and dots, and lias a 

 few yellow spots on top; the ocellar riband 

 is black; all the incisures of the appendages 

 are marked with black, and the wing veins 

 are indicated by ragged black lines now and 

 then interrupted; there is a dorsal yellow 

 streak on the abdomen which is bounded by 

 short black lines and dots; cremaster yellow 

 except the reddish testaceous tip. Length 

 22 mm. : breadth 4.5 mm. 



An inky tinge begins to suffuse the 

 body about three days before emer- 

 ging ; it first affects the dorsum of the 

 thorax, then it extends to the head and 

 rest of the thorax except the wings 

 and to the ventral portion of the abdom- 

 inal segments just succeeding the wing- 

 tips, and finally to nearly the whole 

 body. I once chanced to observe a 

 moth while emerging; it had thrust its 

 body forward out of the chrysalis skin 



