20 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS 



blackish tuft, pointing backwards ; then on four of the 

 middle segments there are ochreous tufts on the back, 

 and two of these segments have also tufts on the sides. 

 The larva when full fed spins a rather firm whitish 

 cocoon, and in it undergoes its change to the pupa 

 state. In about two or three weeks, according to the 

 heat of the weather, the final change takes place : the 

 pupa skin cracks, the moth creeps out, and if it is a 

 male it proceeds to expand and dry its wings ; if, how- 

 ever, the moth should be a female, the wings do not 

 grow after its exclusion from the pupa; they are ex- 

 tremely small and rudimentary moreover, the female 

 moth has a very large body, quite disproportionate to 

 that of her partner ; the female is therefore not locomo- 

 tive : she sits heavily on the outside of her cocoon, 

 waiting for the male. The male, on the other hand, is 

 one of the most lively moths we have ; in the most 

 sultry weather in August he may be seen flying in a 

 series of irregular circles in the daytime ; and as few 

 moths are more plentiful in London than this, he may 

 often be seen threading his way along the crowded 

 streets. The male is intently searching for the female, 

 who, unable to fly, is waiting quietly to be found out. 

 The males of this species, and some other allied species, 

 are endowed with peculiar powers of detecting their 

 own females ; they will even enter houses where they 

 are, and congregate round the boxes in which they are 

 imprisoned. Collectors take advantage of this habit, 

 and when they succeed in rearing a female which has 

 these powers of attraction they take her to the natural 

 haunts of the species, and thus frequently obtain a 

 considerable number of specimens of the other sex. 

 Now let ns consider the transformations of the Tiger 



