The Cetonia-larva 



the tweezers reveal when piaching the two 

 ends of the cocoon. 



The inner envelope is firm, elastic, rigid 

 and, to a certain point, brittle. I do not 

 hesitate to look upon it as consisting of a 

 silken tissue which the larva, towards the 

 end of its task, has steeped thoroughly in a 

 sort of varnish prepared not by the silk- 

 glands but by the stomach. The cocoons 

 of the Sphex have already shown us a simi- 

 lar varnish. This product of the chylific 

 ventricle is chestnut-brown. It is this which, 

 saturating the thickness of the tissue, ef- 

 faces the bright red of the beginning and 

 replaces it by a brown tint. It is this again 

 which, disgorged more profusely at the lower 

 end of the cocoon, glues the two wrappers 

 together at that point. 



The perfect insect is hatched at the begin- 

 ning of July. The emergence takes place 

 without any violent effraction, without any 

 ragged rents. A clean, circular fissure ap- 

 pears at some distance from the top; and the 

 cephalic end is detached all of a piece, as a 

 loose lid might be. It is as though the 

 recluse had only to raise a cover by butting 

 it with her head, so exact is the line of divi- 

 sion, at least as regards the inner envelope, 

 the stronger and more important of the two. 

 85 



