18 STRUCTURE OF THE LEPIDOPTERA 



are seriously engaged with family affairs only. Watch one of them 

 carefully, and as soon as she has settled herself on a leaf, walk steadily 

 towards her till you are near enough to observe her movements. 

 She will not move unless you approach too closely, for, like busy 

 folk generally, she has no time to worry about petty annoyances. 

 You will now actually witness the deposition of the eggs exactly as 

 carried on in the perfect freedom of nature ; and the eggs them- 

 selves may be taken either for examination or for the rearing of the 

 caterpillars. 



Some species of Lepidoptera lay some hundreds of eggs, and it 

 is seldom that the number laid by one female is much below a 

 hundred. 



As already stated, the under surfaces of leaves are generally 

 chosen for the deposit of eggs, but a few of the insects we are con- 

 sidering always select the upper surface for this purpose. Thus 

 the Puss Moth (page 235), and two or three others resembling it, 

 though much smaller, known as the Kittens (page 234), invariably 

 lay them on the upper surface. And this is the more surprising 

 since the eggs of these moths are brown or black, and consequently 

 so conspicuous 011 the green leaves as to be in danger of being 

 sighted by the numerous enemies of insects. 



The Hairstreak Butterflies (page 183) afford another exception to 

 the general rule, for their eggs are deposited on the bark of the trees 

 and shrubs (birch, sloe, elm, oak, and bramble) on which their 

 larvae feed. 



At the moment each egg is laid it is covered with a liquid 

 sticky substance, so that it is immediately glued to the leaf or stem 

 as soon as it is deposited. The sticky substance soon dries, causing 

 the egg to be so firmly fastened in its place that it is often impossi- 

 ble to force it offwithout destroying it completely. 



Some of the Lepidoptera deposit their eggs singly, or in small 

 irregular clusters ; but by far the larger number set them very 

 regularly side by side, in so compact a mass that it would be 

 impossible to place them on a smaller area without piling one on 

 top of another. This is not accomplished with the aid of the sight, 

 for the insect performing her task with such precision often has her 

 head on one side of a leaf or stem while arranging her eggs on the 

 other. If you take the trouble to watch her, you will see that she 

 carefully feels out a place for each egg by means of the tip of her 

 abdomen immediately before laying it. 



The eggs are laid by moths and butterflies at various seasons 



