MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. 177 



their own pleasure, and charm away their brief ex- 

 istence fluttering from bough to bough, and satiating 

 themselves with the sweet nectar of flowers. 



And, indeed, whether we look at them in their in- 

 fancy as caterpillars, or in the state of chrysalis, or in 

 their perfect condition, they are always more beauti- 

 ful and more interesting than all other insects, and at- 

 tract more of our attention, when in the state of ca- 

 terpillar, on account of the injury they do to vegeta- 

 tion, and when in their perfect form, on account of 

 their splendor and variety. 



Moths and Butterflies are distinguished from other 

 insects by having four expanded wings, with a few ex- 

 ceptions, covered with colored scales, and hairy bodies. 

 They are oviparous animals, and under the guidance 

 of their instinct, lay their eggs upon those plants, 

 which are best adapted for sustaining their future pro- 

 geny. From these eggs proceed the caterpillars, (lar- 

 vae,) many of which are so voracious that they con- 

 sume more than twice their own weight in twenty- 

 four hours. We may congratulate ourselves that they 

 are so small, and that we and our domestic animals 

 are more moderate in our appetites, for if a man 

 weighing one hundred and fifty pounds, consumed eve- 

 ry day three hundred pounds of food, or an ox weigh- 

 ing four hundred pounds devoured daily eight hundred 

 pounds of grass, our terrestrial globe could not, in its 



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