Article beginning on page 171.
Psyche 3:171-173, 1880.

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PSYCHE.
ON THE NUMBER OF MOLTS OF BUTTERFLIES,'WITH SOME HISTORY OF THE MOTH CALLOSAMIA PROMETHEA. BY WILLIAM H : EDWARDS, COALBURGH, W. VA. (Continued from Page r6r.)
Mr.
Lintner, of Albany, IS. Y. (En-
tom. Contributions, 111, p. 129), speaks of four molts, though he does not say he saw the fourth. He speaks of first,
* second and third, and adds, " the sub- sequent moulting was not noticed," evi-
dently considering that a fourth should
take place, and probably he was aware
that it had done so from the difference in markings between the larval stages.
Mr. Lintner states that the eggs were
laid 17 June, and hatched in 19 days, 6
July. The second molt was passed 20
July ; third molt 1 Aug. On 9 Aug.,
" some of the colony commenced the
construction of their cocoons, 52 days
from oviposition and 33 clays from tlie
disclosure of the larvae."
The larvae at Coalburgh, passing but
three molts, had therefore hut four sta- ges. Stages 1 and 2 were essentially
alike, the coloration being yellow with
black stripes across the segments. At
the second molt a radical change in col- oration took place, and this stage, the
third, and the following (or last) were
in this respect essentially alike. The
color was now, at second molt, whitish
with a green tint ; the black stripes had entirely disappeared and on each of seg- ments 3 and 4 (head being segment 1)
were two dorsal appendages much larger
than other dorsals, cylindrical, high,
light yellow, with concolored spurs around the rounded summit, and a black ring at
base ; on segment 11 was a single similar process on the medio-dorsal line. As
the larva approaches the third molt, and about 24 hours before the same, the/our
anterior processes gradually change color, t'urniitq first ochraceous, then dull orange, and so continue to the molt.
After the third molt, or at the fourth
and last stage, these processes have
changed, all l~aving lost their crowns of spurs, and become oval topped ; those on segments 3 and 4 are red, and look like
sealing wax, but the one in segment 11
retains its yellow color.
It will be seen therefore that (apart
from several other differences which I
might have specified) the first two stages are black striped but the last two have no stripes, and of these last two, the first has five yellow, crowned knobs or proces- ses on clorsum, while in the last stage
the 'knobs have lost their crowns, and four of them are red, one yellow. So that




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it is easy to distinguish apart the third and fourth stages, and indeed it is not
possible to mistake one for the other.
I had bred these larvae in glasses and
watched them several times every clay.
The moment I noticed a swelling on the
second segment, which always precedes
ancl advertises a molt in lepidopterons
larvae, I separated the swollen larva
and followed it carefully. I also pre-
served the cash of the face at each molt, and exan~ples of the larvae in alcohol
both at the beginning and end of each
stage.
I looked further at Prof.
Riley's cle-
scription of the same moth (Fourth
Missouri Report, 13. 121). Mr. Riley
gives four molts for this species,
and
says : ' The first stage is yellow, with two transverse dark Isands" (to each body segment). '*In the second stage there
is no essential change." etc. So far
Prof. Riley and I agree in all points.
He goes on: I11 the third stage the
transverse stripes are more conspicuous." Here we part, and this stage did not dis- cover itself in my observations. "I11
the fourth stage (or after the third molt) . . . the body is still paler . . . the trans- verse stripes are broader," etc. This stage also is in addition to any observed by me. In the fifth stage (or after the fourth molt) the appearance is totally changed, the
body is of the most delicate bluish-white . . . the four dorsals on segments 2 and 3" (my 3 and 4) " are at first yellow,
with a black basal annulation, but they
soon become red, that of joint 11 " (my
12) "reinains yellow," etc. Nothing is
said of the crowns of spines on the dor- sal processes, which I found a conspic-
uous feature at the stage after the second molt, or of a molt intervening between
the processes being yellow ancl their
being red (for the change in the processes which precedes the last molt is not to red, bat to ochraceons and then orange cificl no farther). It is evident then that Mr. Riley's fifth stage is equal to my third and fourth together, ancl that his third and fourth stages did not appear at all in my larvae. Certainly the larvae at Albany
behave differently from those in Missouri, and both differ materially from those at Coalburgh.
It has occurred to me that
Prof. Riley's observations might have
been made on larvae of C. angul~fera, a
form which he says he regards as a va-
riety of G. pro~~~ethec~, but which I for- merly bred, and then liad no doubt of
its distinctness from prometJieu. The
periods of my brood of larvae were
thus :-
Eggs laid 19 April,
Eggs hatched 1 May.
Time 11 days.
Larva. 1st molt 7 May. 6 lb
2nd lt 11 lL 6' 4 6 b
L. Srd U 15 l b t b 4 L L
In cocoon 22 May. '- 7 "
Three 8 8 moths issued 16 June.
Time 2;) days.
Others at intervals for
a month later.
Whole larval period 22 days.
From egg to imago, 58 days.
After correspondence with Mr. Lintner
on the discrepancy of our observations,
in which he thought I must have missed
a molt, I bred a second lot of larvae
from eggs laid by a female which emerged from t,he first lot of cocoons, on 20 June.



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PSYCHE. 173
I found it paired in the box, and it laid Larva, 2nd molt, 6 Aug. '~ime 5 days.
162 eggs, HI June. t 3rd 1' 11 .' a 5 L' Eggs laid 21 June. In cocoou 18,; u 7 LL Eggs hatched 1 July.
Time 30 days. Whole larval period 22 days. Larva,lstrnolt4July.
"å 3 bh So moths issued from this lot, but all 6~ 2nd lt 9 4' 5
å´ thecocoonsare wintering. Abouttwo-
4 4 Srd U 18 LL
' 4 " thirds of the cocoons from the eggs laid la cocoon 18 ~4 5 44 21 .June gave imagos, and about one- First moths issued 12 Aug. Time 25 third are wintering. But both these last days.
broods, as I have said liefore, came fi'oiii Whole larval period, 18 days.
the first lot of cocoous. *
From egg to imago, 52 days.
I was careful at all points in these two The behavior of the pupae of thisbrood broods, the more so as my attention had was in this way.
On 12 Aug., 2 f been directed to the different results be- emerged.
As 1 desired to keep exam-
tween my observations and others re-
pies of the moth of each brood for corn- forded.
The rapidity of the changes in
parison, 1 killed these, expecting to see both broods, caused by the hot weather,
plenty more.
On 13 Aug. 3 9 emerged ;
no doubt, will be noticed, in one brood
OH 14, 1 $ ; on 15, 2 9 ; on 16. 1
; on
but 3 to 5 days intervening between any
17, 1 9 ; and no more of either sex ap-
of the molts, in the other from. 4 to 5. pared.
So I lost the opportunity of
111 the last stage of the second brood
mating any females in the boxes. I tied the time was 7 (from third molt to all these 9 $ out at night and kept them cocoon). In this last brood it happened out several nights, bringing them to the that I painted reda part of the last seg- house during daylight, until all of them ment of every larva just after the third were broken up, but in no case did a male moit. These red marks were not lost,
visit them.
That means that; at this ye-
bat stuck to the larvae till they disap- rid no wiM males were flying in the
peared in their cocoons. I do not remem- vicinity. Had I kept the males which ber ever reading of this device for issued 12 Aug., another brood would
identifying larvae, but with light colored have been raised, making the third in and smootli-skilined ones, it answers succession. As it was, the females tied artmirabl~. out laid many nnimpregnated eggs on So I am thoroughly satisfied that 0. the trees to which 1 confined them. An- pro)netJ~.ea, at Coalburgh, passes but other 9 emerging from the first lot of three molts, and it becomes very proha- cocoons on 16 July gave me another ble that this species at least varies in opportunity of verifying my observations. the number of molts with the latitude Eggs laid 17 July.
or locality. At Albany, N.Y., I suppose
Eggs hatched 27 July. Time 10 days, there is but one annual brood. . Mr. Larva, 1st molt, 1 AU~. *. 4 Lintner found the period from the laying



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