PARTHENOGENESIS OR AGAMOGENESIS IN LEPIDOPTERA. 27 



to Herold, embryos were not developed in all the unfertilised eggs 

 examined, nor did he know of any case in which such embryos emerged 

 from the egg. As far back as 1669, it may be mentioned that Malpighi 

 was well acquainted (Marc. Malp. Diss, de Bombyce, Lond., p. 82) with 

 these differences. He also then knew that the eggs of Lepidoptera 

 were not fertilised at the time of copulation, but that each one was 

 afterwards fertilised separately. 



Siebold quotes, on the authority of Filippi, that Curtis had received 

 an isolated chrysalis of Telea polyphermis from America, from which a 

 female emerged, all of whose eggs developed, adding that he believed 

 a similar occurrence sometimes took place in B. mori. Filippi 

 relates that, in 1850, he observed the phenomenon in that variety of 

 the latter species known as trevotini, which has three broods in a year. 

 He also states that Griseri had also observed that many eggs of virgin 

 females of B. mori developed. Siebold observes that various silkworm 

 breeders in Breslau and Munich gave him similar information, and 

 that he himself noticed exactly the same well-known change of colour, 

 which took place in the fertilised eggs of this species, occurring in a 

 large number of unfertilised eggs, although many stopped at various 

 stages, only becoming reddish or violet, whilst only a very few went 

 through the entire series of colour-change to slaty-grey. Siebold ob- 

 tained no larvae from them, but, in 1854, he received unfertilised eggs 

 from Schmid, which produced larvae. He tells us that he expected to 

 breed only males, due to his having read Lacordaire's account of 

 Carrier's observations, that "he obtained, without copulation, three 

 generations of Porthetria (Liparis) dispar, of which the last gave only 

 males, which naturally brought the experiment to an end." Siebold, 

 however, bred both males and females, which copulated freely, and 

 appeared to have the ordinary amount of vitality. Kipp had pre- 

 viously recorded the rearing of both males and females from some 

 unfecundated eggs of Smerinthus populi. 



A brief summary of what has been observed in this country (with 

 a few incidental outside observations) may now be useful. Newman 

 in 1856, gave a list of Lepidoptera in which the phenomenon of par- 

 thenogenesis had been noticed up to that date. These were : — Sphinx 

 ligustri, Smerinthus populi, S. ocellatus, Porthetria dispar, Psilura 

 monacha, Diloba caerideocepliala, Telea polyphemus, Satumia pyri, S. 

 . pavonia, Orgyia gonostigma, 0. antiqua, Bombyx mori, Basiocampa 

 quercus, Arctia caia, A. villica, A. casta, Dendrolimus pini, Cosmotriche 

 (Odonestis) potatoria, Eutricha (Gastropacha) quercifolia, Sterrhopterix 

 hirsutella (Psyche jusca), Apterona crenulella (Psyche helix), Ganephora 

 unicolor (Psyche graminella), Fumea casta (Psyche nitidella), Solenobia 

 triquetrella, S. clathrella, S. lichenella. 



The observations on which this list were based are sometimes of a 

 very unsatisfactory nature, but others are more convincing, e.g., 

 Tardy's experiments with B. quercus, in which three generations of 

 perfectly vigorous and full-sized moths were reared without a single 

 coition having taken place. Mory of Basle (Ent. Bee, vi., p. 209) 

 recently obtained larvae from unfertilised eggs of this species. A note 

 in the Ent. Weekly hit., iii., pp. 175-176, states that parthenogenetic 

 females of Solenobia inconspicuella had been bred, whilst in the Ent. 

 Bee, vi., p. 89, Freer records the rearing of Talaeporia pseudobombycella 

 parthenogenetically. Douglas (Substitute, p. 78) states that he has bred 



