The Life of the Caterpillar 



And first of all the egg, which Reaumur 

 did not see. In the first fortnight of August, 

 let us inspect the lower branches of the pines, 

 on a level with our eyes. If we pay the least 

 attention, we soon discover, here and there, 

 on the foliage, certain little whitish cylinders 

 spotting the dark green. These are the 

 Bombyx' eggs : each cylinder is the cluster laid 

 by one mother. 



The pine-needles are grouped in twos. 

 Each pair is wrapped at its base in a cylindri- 

 cal muff which measures about an inch long 

 by a fifth or sixth of an inch wide. This 

 muff, which has a silky appearance and is 

 white slightly tinted with russet, is covered 

 with scales that overlap after the manner of 

 the tiles on a roof; and yet their arrange- 

 ment, though fairly regular, is by no means 

 geometrical. The general aspect is more or 

 less that of an immature walnut-catkin. 



The scales are almost oval in form, semi- 

 transparent and white, with a touch of brown 

 at the base and of russet at the tip. They 

 are free at the lower end, which tapers 

 slightly, but firmly fixed at the upper end, 

 which is wider and blunter. You cannot de- 

 tach them either by blowing on them or by 



