THE EGG 21 



to examine them at intervals with your microscope, always using 

 the reflector so as to direct a strong light through the eggs 

 from below. 



But even without such an arrangement some interesting 

 changes are to be observed. As a rule, the colour of the egg 

 turns darker as the time for the arrival of the infant larva ap- 

 proaches, and you will often be able to see a little brown or 

 black head moving slightly within the ' shell.' You may know 

 then that the hatching is close at hand, and the movements of 

 the tiny creature are well worth careful watching. Soon a small 

 hole appears in the side of the case, and a little green or dark 

 cap begins to show itself. Then, with a magnifier of some kind, 

 you may see a pair of tiny jaws, working horizontally, and not 

 with an up-and-down motion like our own, gradually gnawing 

 away at the cradle, till at last the little creature is perfectly free to 

 ramble in search of food. 



Strange to say, the young larva does not waste a particle of 

 the horny substance that must necessarily be removed in securing 

 its liberty, but devours it with an apparent relish. Indeed, it appre- 

 ciates the flavour of this viand so highly that it often disposes 

 of the whole of its little home, with the exception of the small 

 circular patch by which it was cemented to the plant. When the 

 whole brood have thus dispensed with their empty cradles, there 

 remains on the stem or leaf a glittering patch of little pearly 

 plates. 



After the performance of this feat the young caterpillar starts 

 off in life on its own account with as much briskness and confidence 

 as if it had previously spent a term in the world under the same 

 conditions ; but we must reserve an account of its doings and suf- 

 feripgs for our next chapter. 



