NO. 7 THE GOLD-BANDED SKIPPER CLARK 4I 



We have found the pupae of Epargyreus tityrus in the last stage 

 shelter, but never the pupae of this species. 



In forming their shelters the largest caterpillars fasten one leaflet 

 down upon the upper surface of another in such a way as to leave an 

 oval cavity about an inch long and of considerable depth between 

 them. The leaflets are fastened together by strong bands of silk 2 to 

 6, usually 3 or 4, mm apart. These shelters are not destroyed when they 

 are abandoned, and therefore are frequently appropriated by spiders 

 or serve as more or less temporary abiding places for various types of 

 insects. 



In captivity the cocoon is formed after the fashion of the shelter 

 of the fully grown caterpillar but is much more elaborate. Two 

 suitable dry leaves are fastened together in such a way as to leave 

 between them an oval cavity nearly or quite an inch long and of 

 considerable depth. The stout bands of silk by which the leaves are 

 fastened together are usually 3 or 4 mm apart, though sometimes closer 

 together and sometimes more distant. They are stouter than the 

 bands used in fastening the leaves together for the last shelter. 



If the leaves are broken so that an aperture of appreciable size is 

 left this aperture is closed by long bands of silk (pi. 4, fig. 18) 

 usually 3 to 4 mm apart, though sometimes closer and sometimes 

 distant as much as 6 mm, between which are run more or less regular 

 cross bands approximately the same distance apart, forming an irregu- 

 lar network. The caterpillar then broadens the bands and cross bands 

 until some of the interstices are wholly closed and most of them are 

 reduced to a rough circle of varying dimensions. 



This broadening of the bands and cross bands is simply a part of the 

 process of lining the whole interior of the cocoon with a fairly uniform 

 irregularly crisscross loose web of silk that scarcely conceals the 

 underlying leaf and becomes dense only about the spot where, when 

 it finally comes to rest, the caterpillar attaches the terminal pair of 

 prolegs. 



If the caterpillars are too crowded one may drive out another from 

 a partially completed cocoon and appropriate it for itself, or part of a 

 cocoon may be eaten away by caterpillars not yet fully fed. But 

 these caterpillars are never cannabalistic. 



PUPATION 



Just before pupation the largest larvae shorten to a length of about 

 24 mm. The body becomes swollen to a maximum width of about 

 7 mm, the skin becoming very taut so that the plications on the 



