1864. | Zoology and Animal Physiology. 703 
male commenced sitting on ten eges. After eight weeks, signs of life 
appeared in the eggs, and on April 13th the first was hatched, and 
ultimately ten young emeus repaid Mr. Bennett’s care and labour, 
The normal period of incubation thus appears to be about sixty days, 
but although the number of eggs laid is large, few appear to be hatched 
in the wild state, as the eggs are laid in various sheltered places, and 
are afterwards collected by the male, that is, as many as he may happen 
to find. The female takes no part in incubation. 
A series of experiments has been made by M. Barthélemy on 
monstrosities, both artificial and natural, among lepidopterous insects, 
He performed his experiments chiefly on the chrysalis, and endeavoured 
to cause modifications similar to those obtained by covering the eggs 
of birds with varnish. On covering the chrysalis with oil it was found 
that it died before completing the metamorphosis; but on covering 
either the thoracic or abnormal portion with wax, a retardation of 
development was perceived, which was much greater in the case of the 
thoracic parts. The cephalic part of the nervous system was much 
retarded in development, but the other parts of the ganglionic chain 
appeared to be developed as usual. He succeeded also in suppressing 
the development of the generative organs. 
Mr. Bates has added another remarkable example of mimetic resem- 
blance, in a spider, of the genus Salticus, to a flower of Senecio pubi- 
gerus (Linn.), a common roadside weed in dry ground about Cape 
Town. It was noticed by Mr. Roland Trimen, of Cape Town, who 
says — 
“Leptoneura Clytus, a handsome butterfly of the Satyrus family, is 
very abundant just now. Flowers are rather scarce at this season, aud a 
tall straggling plant with yellow composite flowers attracts these butter- 
flies with many other insects. As I approached a plant upon which were 
several Leptoneure, I observed that two specimens did not. fly off with 
the others, and found that each was in the clutches of a bright yellow 
spider. I removed one of these butterflies, and as the spider shrunk up 
its limbs on the flower, which equals it in size, it was scarcely distinguish- 
able, so exactly similar was it in colour. Recovering from its alarm, it 
slowly moved to the side of the flower, and holding on to the stalk by its ' 
two hindmost pairs of legs, it extended the two front pairs upwards and 
laterally. In this position it was scarcely possible to believe that it was 
not a flower seen in profile, the rounded abdomen representing the central 
mass of florets, and the extended legs the florets of the ray ; while to com- 
plete the illusion, the front femora appressed to the thorax have each a 
longitudinal red stripe, representing the ferruginous stripe on the sepals 
of the flower. As the other spider also assumed the same attitude when 
robbed of his butterfly, and as both retained it for a considerable time, I 
conclude it is their ordinary mode of waiting for their prey.” 
M. Matteucci brought before the French Academy a remarkable 
case, in which a number of eggs, after having been allowed to remain 
under the hen for different periods, were left to putrify. In no case 
did he find the slightest trace of either animal or vegetable life upon 
breaking the shell of the putrified eggs. He considered that as long 
as the shell remained intact no germs could by any means obtain 
admission, and therefore the circumstances of this case were peculiarly 
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