EGGS AND CATERPILLARS 9 



seen cynthia lay them, and occasionally other rows 

 are laid on top of the first mat, as cynthia lays them 

 sometimes but not always. Eggs laid singly are found 

 once in a while, but not often. 



Most of our ceratocam'pids lay yellow eggs like 

 drops of honey or amber, and place them singly or in 

 groups on leaves or twigs. These eggs become red- 

 der or browner before hatching, and are transparent 

 enough to show the larvae for the last day or two. 



Moth eggs vary in form, some being ovoid, others 

 like cream-peppermints, some cylindrical, others glob- 

 ular or hemispherical, and others shaped more like 

 wafers than anything else. Some eggs are smooth, 

 some ridged, and some have the surface marked like 

 hammered silver. Some, like those of Attacus angid'i- 

 fera, are smooth except at one end, which looks like 

 hammered silver or honeycomb. The shell is brittle 

 and stiff with chitin, and breaks easily. At one end, 

 usually, is the micropyle. This may be one opening 

 or canal leading into the egg^ or it may be a group of 

 such canals. Through one of these openings the sper- 

 matozoon enters the agg and fuses with the egg- 

 nucleus, fertilizing the Qgg and giving rise to the new 

 caterpillar. 



The length of the egg-period varies from five days 

 to four weeks, except in tlie case of such eggs as are 

 laid in the summer or autumn and hatch in the follow- 

 ing spring or summer. 



When their time comes the little caterpillars nibble 

 holes in their shells and crawl out, looking altogether 

 too large to have lain curled uf) in the egg-shell. As 

 soon as they are out of the shell the different kinds 



