Butterflies and Moths. 411 
nately, and they may be laid singly or in large or small clusters. The 
yellow butterfly, Callidryas eubule, for example, lays her eggs singly on 
the upper or on the lower surface of a leaf, but Brassolis sophorw, the 
palm pest, in a cluster on the upper surface of one of the leaflets of the 
palm. The rattle-bush moth Utetheisa ornatiix lays hers in clusters on 
the upper surface of the leaf along the midrib, and arranges them in 
roughly parallel rows, the centre row being on the midrib. On the 
other hand, Anceryx caicus, the Echites hawk-moth places hers singly 
on the tender leaves or on the growing shoot of the plant. The many- 
roots moth, Cobubatha quadrifera, puts her tiny dull green eggs, to the 
number of three at least, on one of the two tender leaves at the extreme 
top of the plant, and as far down between them as her abdomen can 
reach. 
When the food-plant is small and not excessively abundant, and the 
butterfly or moth large, the eggs are laid singly and not many—aup to 
three or four perhaps—on one plant. If all the eges were deposited on 
the plant, the latter might not be able to afford nourishment for the 
resulting caterpillars, so that all or most of them would eventually die of 
starvation, especially if no suitable food-plant were within crawling 
range. The wild ipecacuanha or Aselepias butterfly does not put all its 
egos on a single plant, but places them on several ipecacuanhas, for the 
welfare of the offspring and the preservation of the species. On the 
contrary, when the food-plant is large, or small but excessively abundant, 
the egos are often laid in a big cluster. A coconut palm is a large tree 
with ample foliage, hence Brassolis can lay all her eges in a great cluster 
on a single tree without fear that the caterpillars will starve to death 
after hatching. In this case all the eggs can be placed in one basket, so 
to speak, with impunity. 
The smalPmoth-borers of the sugar-cane, species of Diatrcea, deposit 
their egos in clusters of two to ninety on the upper or lower surface of 
the green blades, sometimes of the dry blades or trash, on the cane 
stem, and on blades of various grasses in and about cane-fields. 
Mr. Quelch states that Castnia licws, the large moth-borer of the sugar- 
cane, deposits her egos singly about the cane-fields, in the ground, close 
to the stool, or on the stool itself. Caligo oberon, a butterfly whose 
caterpillars feed on leaves of the sugar-cane, the plantain, the banana, and 
the coconut, lays hers, as regards the sugar-cane, on the blades, on the 
under surface, to the number of six at a time, ina straight iine, in contact 
with each other, or nearly so, and connected by a transparent mucilaginous 
substance. The Satyrid Jaygetis andromeda, whose caterpillar feeds 
on blades of sugar-cane, razor-grass, and other grasses, also lays her 
egos on the blades. Twice I have come across the eggs, and on each 
oceasion they were two on a blade. 
Eggs are not always deposited upon the food-plant of the caterpillar 
of the mother insect. Some may be laid on it, while others may be 
merely placed near it upon difterent plants, or even upon dry vegetable 
matter. On one occasion I noticed Agraulis phwrusa, a butter-fly 
