8 



The chrysalis seems to have neither head nor feet, is golden-colored at 

 first, and then turns chestnut brown. The skin dries rapidly and forms 

 a hard case, on which the lines of only the posterior rings are seen, the 

 place of the first three rings being covered with the wing-cases. 



The chrysalis state is in certain respects a sleep and in others a period 

 of great activity, in which the entire being is transformed. Wings, 

 antennae, reproductive organs, and legs are all now developed. This 

 state lasts from eighteen to twenty days, according to the temperature. 

 When the metamorphosis is complete, the sheath breaks in the region 

 of the head and the moth or perfect insect issues. 



THE MOTH. 



The larva in spinning the cocoon leaves one end less dense, so that 

 the threads open freely to permit the egress of the moth. By the aid 



of an alkaline fluid the moth sof- 

 tens and parts the threads and lib- 

 erates itself. 



The moth (fig. 4) comes out of 

 the cocoon, as the larva out of the 

 egg, in the early morning hours. 

 It has a distinct head, thorax, 

 and abdomen, four wings, two 

 comb-shaped antennae, three pairs 

 of legs, and a pair of compound 

 eyes. 



Shortly after emerging, the 

 moth deposits a liquid substance, 

 generally white, sometimes color- 

 less and sometimes reddish, and 

 then the union occurs, lasting sev- 

 eral hours, after which the eggs 

 are laid either immediately or in 

 the course of four or five hours. 

 A gelatinous substance supplied by two glands near the extremity 

 of the oviduct covers the eggs as thej" come out, and causes them to 

 adhere to the substance on which they are laid. 



The laying, consisting of 300 to 700 eggs, is generally completed in 

 three days, 70 to 80 per cent being deposited the first day, 20 to 80 per 

 cent the second day, and a few the third day. The mother moth 

 dies six to twelve days later, her death being usually preceded by that 

 of the male. Death occurs more or less speedily, according to the 

 robustness of the moth, the temperature, and the tranquillity in which 

 it has been left. 



Thus in about sixty-five days the silkworm has completed its cycle 

 of existence, its three periods being thirty to forty days in a larval 



165 



Fig. 4.— The moth: a, the male; b, the female. 



