The Descent of Man

former. With respect to specimens reared from
the caterpillar-state, Dr. Staudinger believes, as
previously stated, that a greater number of females
than of males die whilst confined to the
cocoons. He adds that with certain species one
sex seems to preponderate over the other during
certain years.
Of direct observations on the sexes of Lepidoptera,
reared either from eggs or caterpillars, I
have received only the few following cases:
(See following table.)
So that in these eight lots of cocoons and eggs,
males were produced in excess. Taken together
the proportion of males is as 122.7 to 100 females.
But the numbers are hardly large enough to
be trustworthy.
On the whole, from these various sources of
evidence, all pointing in the same direction, I
infer that with most species of Lepidoptera, the
mature males generally exceed the females in