THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST, 



87 



sent8 the appearance of Figure 29, having lost its long hairs, and all its 

 tubercles but that on the eleventh joint. It does not become entirely 

 smooth, however, as thei-e are short hairs along the sides, and very minute 

 ones not noticeable with the unaided eye, all over the body. The prepar- 

 ation for each moult requires from two to three days of flisting and rest, 

 during which the worm attaches itself tirml}" by the abdominal prolegs and 

 holds up the forepart of the body, and sometimes the tail. In front of 

 the first joint a dark ti-iangular spot is at this time noticeable, indicating 

 the growth of the new head, and when the term of "sickness," as it is 

 often called, is over, the worm casts its old integument, rests a short time to 

 recover strength, and then freshened, supple and hungrj^, goes to work feed- 

 ing voraciously to compensate for lost time. It is usually estimated that 

 it consumes its own weight of leaves every day it feeds; but this is not 

 strictly correct. It does, however, consume more during the last few days 

 of its worm-life than during all the rest put together. When about to 

 spin up it shrinks somewhat in size, acquires a clear translucent pinkish ap- 

 pearance, becomes restless, ceases to feed and throws out silken threads. 



According to Quatrefages * the color of the silk is correllated with the 

 color of the abdominal prolegs. 



The Cocoon. — The cocoon (Fig. 30) consists of an outer lining of loose 

 or floss silk, which is used for carding, and of a strong, tough pod. Its form 



[Fis: i) ] 



/ 



is usually oval and its color 

 yellowish ; but in both 

 these features it varies 

 greath', being either pure 

 silvery-white, cream, or 

 carneous, green, and even 

 and ver}' o f t e n 

 •ted in the middle. 



Aiji roseate; 

 vp) constricts 



V '//' The male cocoon is often more pointed than that of the 



\\ / female. 



^^Js^^ The Chrysalis. — The worm completes its cocoon in 



about three days and in three days more becomes a chrysalis. In this state 

 it remains from two to three weeks when it issues as a moth. 



The Moth — Is of a cream-color with more or less distinct brownish 

 markings across the wings as in Figure 31 : neither sex flies, but the male 

 is more active than the female. Coitus takes place very soon after issuing, 

 and the female begins depositing in a day or two, whether her eggs be fer- 

 tilized or not. 



enemies and diseases. 



It has generall}' been supposed that no true parasites attack the mul- 

 berry silkworm; and certain it is that none such are known in Europe. 

 But in China and Japan great numbers of worms are killed b^' a disease 

 called " Uji," which is undoubtedly produced by the larva of some parasite, 



* Quoted by Darwin 



