The Life-History and Anatomy of Moths 



Fig. 2. Egg of 

 Peridroma saucia, 

 greatly enlarged. 



until it has attained the degree of maturity which permits it 

 to hatch, or come forth in the first larval stage. The eggs 

 of moths have various forms. Spherical, hemispherical, cylin- 

 drical, and lenticular, or lens-shaped eggs 

 are common. The eggs of the Cochlidiidce, or 

 Slug-moths, are broad and very flat, looking 

 like microscopic pancakes. The surfaces of 

 the eggs of moths are seen under a micro- 

 scope to be more or less ornamented by 

 raised lines and sculpturings. While in some 

 cases the eggs of moths are beautifully spotted and mottled, they 

 are generally quite plain in color, white, pale green, bluish- 

 green, or brown. Like the eggs of butterflies, they are provided 

 with a micropyle. The micropyle, in the case of such eggs as 

 are globular, conical, or cylindrical, is situated on top. In the 

 case of those eggs which are flattened or lenticular, the micro- 

 pyle is located on the outer margin or rim. 



The eggs are always laid by the female in a state of freedom 

 upon that food-plant which is most congenial to the larva. In 



captivity moths will often deposit their eggs 

 in the receptacle in which they are con- 

 fined. In such cases, unless the observer 

 knows the food-plant upon which the 

 species feeds, he will be apt to have great 

 difficulty in rearing the larvae, unless by a 

 Fig. 3. Egg of Samia happy chance he succeeds experimentally 



^^enlar ^d^ 7 m ascerta i mn g tne proper plant. This may 



sometimes be done by introducing the 

 leaves of a number of plants found in the neighborhood and 

 observing those to which the young caterpillars resort. 



The date of oviposition varies with different families and 

 genera. Some moths deposit their eggs in the fall and the young 

 insect passes the winter in the egg, emerging when the early 

 springtime brings opening flowers and leaves. Some moths 

 lay their eggs in the late summer and early fall; the eggs hatch 

 shortly afterward, and the larvae, after molting one or more 

 times, hibernate in the caterpillar state, and in the following 

 spring resume the process of feeding and molting until such 

 time as they are ready to undergo further transformation. Most 



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