MOTHS OF THE LIMBERLOST 



ward as by a big, fully developed Cecropia, are as orna- 

 mental to the moth as splendidly branching antlers are 

 to the head of a deer. 



The female now begins egg placing. This requires 

 time, as one of these big night moths deposits from three 

 hundred and fifty to over six hundred eggs. These 

 lie in embryonic state in the abdomen of the female. 

 At her maturity they ripen rapidly. When they are 

 ready to deposit, she is forced to place them whether 

 she has mated or not. In case a mate has found her, a 

 small pouch near the end of her abdomen is filled with a 

 fluid that touches each egg in passing and renders it 

 fertile. The eggs differ with species and are placed 

 according to family characteristics. They may be pure 

 white, pearl-coloured, gray, greenish, or yellow. There 

 are round, fiat, and oblong eggs. These are placed 

 differently in freedom and captivity. A moth in a natural 

 location glues her eggs, often one at a time, on the under 

 or upper side of leaves. Sometimes she dots several in 

 a row, or again makes a number of rows, like a httle 

 beaded mat. One authority I have consulted states 

 that "The eggs are always laid by the female in a state 

 of freedom upon the food-plant which is most congenial 

 to the larvae." This has not "always" been the case in 

 my experience. I have found eggs on stone walls, 

 boards, fences, outbuildings, and on the bark of dead 

 trees and stumps as well as living, even on the ground. 



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