MR. STAINT0N OK ORGYIA. 



161 



no further use to it than to enable it to cling to the interior of its 

 cocoon, which it cannot quit. Its first operation, after it is hatched, 

 is to form a small hole at the end of its cocoon, opposite the lower 

 part of its abdomen, which it agitates briskly or even protrudes a 

 small portion at the approach of the male. The latter, provided 

 with a fine sense of smell, hastens from a distance, and, seated on 

 the cocoon, completes the act of copulation, which takes place 

 through the hole made in the cocoon. This fact is peculiar to 

 this species*, and entirely new in the history of Lepidoptera; but 

 it is compulsory on this Bomhyx, from the peculiarly inert organi- 

 zation of the female. Copulation lasts a few minutes, after which 

 the male retires ; but, from being active and lively as he was, he 

 becomes heavy and dull. The female, after copulation, first pro- 

 ceeds to stop up the hole in the cocoon, and then immediately 

 proceeds to lay her eggs, which she arranges in layers intermingled 

 with white hairs from the abdomen. The laying of eggs lasts 

 several days, during which, if I may use the expression, she 

 literally dissolves into eggs ; for after the eggs are all laid, the 

 female herself has disappeared, or is at least reduced to nothing. 

 The cocoon is converted into a bagful of eggs, in which one would 

 have some difficulty in finding the fragments of the small head of 

 the female Moth, which is all that remains of her." 



Oegtia Eric^:. In the ' Stettin Entomologische Zeitung,' 

 1858, p. 349, is a notice of this insect by Eranz Schmidt. The writer 

 seems perfectly unacquainted with the previous observations of 

 French entomologists. He observes : — 



" The male flies often briskly in the day. The female has probably 

 a peculiarity of extreme interest. Those I had never came out of 

 the cocoon ; and when I had waited past the time for its meta- 

 morphosis and then examined the cocoon, I regularly found the 

 creature completely developed and uninjured, but dead. On account 

 of the distance of the locality and the scarcity of the larval had only 

 an opportunity of observing this fact eight or ten times, and it might 

 be some extraordinary accident ; but I am of opinion that such a 

 number of occurrences is sufficient to arrest the attention, though 

 perhaps not sufficient to allow us to accept this observation as the 

 rule. In all the authors within my reach I have sought in vain 

 for any explanation : if any other entomologist can enlighten me 

 on the subject, I shall be very glad ; if not, I hope in time myself 



* This memoir was written before M. Rambur had discovered an analogous 

 species in Corsica, the habits of which he described in the 1 Annalcs de la SocietcV 



