39 



Dishes a starch of excellent quality, and this when shipped to Key West, 

 the emporium of southern Florida, always commands a good price in 

 cash. The larva of Eumaeus atala, which is popularly known as "Coon- 

 tie Worm,"* would therefore be an injurious insect, since it often en- 

 tirely defoliates large bushes of the Zamia^ but the plant is so abund- 

 ant and possesses such indestructible vitality that the damage is reduced 

 to a minimum. 



The brilliant red larvue abound everywhere on the plants, and if 

 they have not defoliated the latter, the cream-colored, echiniform eggs, 

 or rather the egg-shells, may be easil^^ found by examining the under 

 side of the leaves. Here they are in more or less regular rows of three 

 or four or even five upon each leaflet, and there is also sometimes a 

 regular row of eggs along the main rib of the leaf. The butterfly, how- 

 ever, never oviposits on such fully developed leaves, but always 

 chooses the young shoots when these are still curled up and the leaflets 

 closel}' folded together. 



The female butterfly alights upon a young shoot and the leaf bends 

 down under the weight of the insect, which thus remains with its legs 

 upwards when ovipositing. It takes a long time before the female has 

 selected a suitable place for the depositing the Qgg^ and this is finally 

 laid with a great eflbrt, so that the insect has to rest for two or three 

 minutes before going on with her work. The second Qgg is laid close 

 to the first, and usually a third and sometimes also a fourth or fifth are 

 laid in a row on the same leaflet. Then the female proceeds to the next 

 leaflet above or beneath the first, or chooses another one, but always 

 close to the first place. I timed a female which had just laid one egg, 

 and found that thirty-two minutes afterwards she had laid only 13 ad- 

 ditional eggs. The number of eggs to be found on a single leaf varies 

 greatly ; sometimes only two or three are found (the insect having evi- 

 dently been disturbed by a sudden gust of wind or otherwise), but usu- 

 ally much more, and as many as thirty-five were counted. When the 

 female has finished ovipositing the leaf gets again erect, and thus the 

 eggs are first on the upper and outer sides of the leaf, but in the course 

 of a few days the leaf unfurls and the eggs, long before they hatch, are 

 on the under side of the leaflets. With the expanse of the leaflets the 

 intervals between the individual eggs increase, and the rows of eggs do 

 not longer appear so regular as when the leaflets were still closed. 



Duration of the egg state in the month of Maj^ at least ten days; 

 that of the larva at least a fortnight ; the pupa state lasts between 

 nine and ten days. During the month of May the species could be 

 found in all stages in the pine woods along the shores of Biscayne 

 Bay, and it seems that in the mild climate of that section it breeds the 

 whole year round. 



* '' Coontie" is the Indian name for Zamia integrifolia; the white settlers call the 

 plant '' Contie " or " Comtie." 



