INVESTIGATIONS PERTAINING TO TEXAS BEEKEEPING. + 21 
never eaten, perhaps because this would expose them to outside influences 
and enemies, An example of this is shown at Plate IV, lower photo. The 
area of feeding is gradually extended from the point of infestation to 
finally include “the entire comb. If the comb does not furnish sufficient 
food for the larvae that are present, they will begin to feed in the refuse 
under the comb in which there is considerable wax in small pieces. In 
this they construct such a large amount of web that they are absolutely 
protected from enemies. 
The length of the larval period for the first brood is forty-five days, 
or about six and one-half weeks. In the second brood this period is 
shortened to thirty-five days, or five weeks, 
The full- -grown larva, shown at Plate II, c, is about three-fourths of an 
inch (18 mm.) in length. The body is large and the head is small and 
pointed. The general color of the body is a dirty gray, with the first 
segment brown on top and a broad line across it. The head is brown in 
color, with a light V-shaped line on top, this “V” opening towards the 
front of the head. 
Having completed its growth, the larva seeks a place in which to 
pupate, though sometimes the end of the feeding gallery may be enlarged 
and closed to serve as a cocoon. The cococn may also be spun in the 
refuse under the comb and this mass of webs affords an excellent pro- 
tection to the pupa. The most common place is in some crack or corner 
about the hive, as shown in Plate V, 6, or between the frames and the 
hive or in the “bee space’ at the end of the top-bars, as is shown in 
Plate VI, a. The larva prefers to get into a place which it can chew in 
order that a cavity may be constructed and the cocoon thus be better 
protected. 
Having prepared for the location of the cocoon, the larva begins to 
spin the silk thread about itself, starting just above the head and working 
backward more than the length of the body. A thin layer of silk is spun 
in the general shape of the cocoon and this framework is covered with 
fine silk from the inside. The larva is able to reverse itself within the 
cocoon, which it does many times during its construction. The outer 
layer, upon hardening, becomes very tough and even like parchment, 
while the inner layer remains soft and fluffy. Cocoons, both whole and 
broken open, are shown at Plate ITI, c, and in Plate VI. The average 
time consumed in the construction of the cocoon was two and one-fourth 
days in the case of the larve observed in our cages. 
THE PUPA. 
‘As the cocoon nears completion, the larva becomes very sluggish and 
the body shortens. The last act of the larva is to make an incision in 
the cocoon near the head end which provides for the easy emergence of 
the moth at maturity. The average time elapsing from the completion 
of the cocoon to the formation of the pupa was three and three-fourths 
days in the cages of the experiments, 
The change to the pupa takes place during the night. The newly 
formed pupa is white. At the end of the first twenty-four hours it turns 
to a straw color, very light at first, deepening slowly. By the end of the 
fourth day the pupa is light brown and this color gradually deepens, so 
