Page:The Olive Its Culture in Theory and Practice.djvu/140

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114
THE OLIVE

The head is horn shaped, broader than it is long, with a convex bulb on each side. Two indented lines, starting from the base, cross in the middle of the back of the head, and form a V in front.

There are five or six little dots on either side of the head. The antennæ are very small, with three joints. The first thoracic ring is flat and smooth. The second and third have a transversal crease, on each side of which are two minute tubercles, each containing a bristly hair.

The first eight abdominal rings are uniform; they are broader than long, with three tubercles on each side, each holding a bristle. The ninth ring has six hairy tubercles equidistant from each other. The last ring is rounded and shield-shaped in the back, and has two false feet, which are larger than the others, and which project on either side.

When the larva is first hatched, its color is an ashy green, with the head light red. The first thoracic ring contains two brown spots, and the feet are black. As the larva increases in size, these colors become more decided; the head changes to a bright red, the back of the first ring inclines to a pale yellow, and the spots on it become black and nearly square. The last abdominal ring in some larvæ becomes brown, in others not. Subsequently a darker line appears each side of the center of the back, extending from the second thoracic to the ninth abdominal ring. These lines continue to darken, and between them will appear a pale yellow streak. The backs of the first thoracic and last abdominal rings become a straw color. Some larvæ do not change color till after their transformation into the pupa stage. Their greatest length is one-third of an inch.

The pupa is elongated, (Fig. 9, 9 a, 9 b,) and gradually tapers downward in a conical shape, rounded in front; the wings, antennæ, and eyes are visible. In its first days, the color is a light green, but grows darker as did the larva. Its length is about a quarter of an