BUTTERFLY AND OTHER SCALT-WINGED INSECTS. 123 



others by night. The great number of species, of which 

 there are estimated to be 25,000, is undoubtedly due to the 

 variety in the food-plants on which the caterpillars feed. 

 Nearly every species of flowering plant affords room and 

 board to one or more species of caterpillar. The oak nour- 

 ishes in this country alone about 100 species; nearly 100 dif- 

 ferent kinds feed on evergreen trees, eating the buds and 

 leaves, boring in the branches, and, in short, attacking the 

 tree in a variety of ways, so that there is a place and abund- 

 ance of food for each kind of caterpillar. In their chrysalis 

 state they are comparatively safe from harm. Nature has 

 thus favored the Lepidoptera above all other insects except 

 the beetles and bees ( Hymen optera). From their number 

 and variety, beauty of color, attractiveness of form, and ease 

 with which they can be collected and their caterpillars 

 reared, the butterflies and moths are the favorites of ento- 

 mologists. 



