LEPIDOPTERA. 229 
and disunited, but not broken. The moth opens a passage for 
itself through the threads thus separated, and makes its ap- 
pearance in the light of day. Its wings are folded back on 
themselves, and it is still quite wet, but it seeks immediately 
for a good place in which to 
dry itself, and in a little time 
assumes its final appearance 
(Figs. 209, 210). The female 
(Fig. 210) has whitish wings, 
the antenne only slightly de- 5... 209_sineworm Moth (Bombyx mors) 
veloped and pale, the abdomen HEELS, 
voluminous, cylindrical, and well filled. It is quiet, heavy, and 
stationary. The male is smaller; its wings are tinged with grey, 
its antenne blackish ; it moves about, beats its wings together, 
and 1s lively and petulant. 
After copulation, before laying her eggs, the female looks out 
for a place suitable for this purpose. When she has found this 
place, she ejects an egg co- yw 
vered with a viscous liquid, 
which causes it to adhere to 
the body upon which it fails. 
Very soon she lays a second 
ege by the side of the first, 
then a third by the side of 
the second, and soon. She 
very rarely piles them up on 
each other. The laying lasts 
about three days; the number 
of eggs is from 300 to 700 
for each female. These egos are generally lenticular and flattened 
towards the centre. At the moment at which they are laid they 
are of a bright yellow. In a week they become brown. The 
colour changes then to a reddish grey; lastly it becomes of a 
slaty grey, remaining this colour during the autumn, winter, 
and a great part of the spring. Then as the temperature rises, 
the colour of the eggs passes successively through bluish, violet, 
ashy, and yellowish shades. And, lastly, they become more and 
more whitish every day as the hatching time approaches. 

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Fig. 210.—Silkworm Moth (Bombyx morz), 
‘ female. 
