LEPIDOPTERA. 229 
and disunited, but not broken. The moth opens a passage for 
itself through the threads thus separated, and makes its ap- 
pearance in the light of day. Its wings are folded back on 
themselves, and it is still quite wet, but it seeks immediately 
| for a good place in which to ; 
| dry itself, and in a little time 
| assumes its final appearance 
| (Figs. 209, 210). The female 
: 210) has whitish wings, 

the antenne only shghtly de- ey 26 3 ion NG a 
ig. 209.—Silkworm Moth (Bombyz 
veloped and pale, the abdomen mori), male, | 
voluminous, cylindrical, and well filled. It is quiet, heavy, and 
stationary. The male is smaller; its wings are tinged with grey, 
its antenne blackish ; it moves about, beats its wings together, 
and is lively and petulant. 
After copulation, before laying her eggs, the female looks out 
for a place suitable for this purpose. When she has found this 
| place, she ejects an egg co- 
| vered with a viscous liquid, 
) which causes it to adhere to 
| the body upon which it falls. 
_ Very soon she lays a second 
ego by the side of the first, 
then a third by the side of 
the second, and so on. She 
very rarely piles them up on 
-each other. The laying lasts se 7 
about three days; the number pecu:. cee ee 
of eggs is from 800 to 700 Pah lt ccraayi fecshtoodl Gist 
| for each female. These egos are generally lenticular and flattened 
| towards the centre. At the moment at which they are laid they 
| are of a bright yellow. In a week they become brown. The 
' colour changes then to a reddish grey; lastly it becomes of a 
slaty grey, remaining this colour during the autumn, winter, 
janda great part of the spring. Then as the temperature rises, 
the colour of the eggs passes successively through bluish, violet, 
ashy, and yellowish shades. And lastly they become more and 
more whitish every day as the hatching time approaches. 















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; 
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