He came to my desk, carrying on a spade
a ball of damp earth larger than a quart bowl. With all care we
broke this as nearly in halves as possible and found in the centre
a firm, oval hole, the size and shape of a hen's egg, and in the
opening a fine fresh pupa case.
It was a beautiful red-brown in colour, long and slenderer than
a number of others in my box of sand, and had a long tongue case
turned under and fastened to the pupa between the wing shields.
The sides of the abdomen were pitted; the shape of the head, and
the eyes showed through the case, the wing shields were plainly
indicated, and the abdominal shield was in round sections so that
the pupa could twist from side to sid when touched, proving that
the developing moth inside was very much alive and in fine condition.
There were no traces of the cast skin. The caterpillar had been
so strong and had pushed so hard against the surrounding earth that
the direction from which it had entered was lost. The soil was
packed and crowded firmly for such a distance that this large ball
was forced together.
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