Then a big nest of crinkly silk threads averaging from three to
four inches in length are spun, running from the top down one side,
up the other, and the cut ends drawn closely together. One writer
states that this silk has no commercial value; while Packard thinks
it has. I attach greater weight to his opinion. Next comes the
inner case. For this the caterpillar loosens its hold and completely
surrounds itself with a small case of compact work. This in turn is
saturated with the glue and forms in a thick, tough case, rough on
the outside, the top not so solidly spun as the other walls;
inside dark brown and worn so smooth it seems as if oiled, from the
turning of the caterpillar. In this little chamber close the
length and circumference of an average sized woman's two top joints
of the first finger, the caterpillar transforms to the pupa stage,
crowding its cast skin in a wad at the bottom.
At time for emergence the moth bursts the pupa case, which is
extremely thin and papery compared with the cases of burrowing
species.
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