PROBLEM I. The Kinds oj Aiiiviah oj the Earth 



43 



Fig. 52 Silkworm moth. Adult (top), e^iipty 

 cocoons (center), larva (bottom). The adults 

 lay eggs ivbicb batch into larvae. Each larva 

 spins a cocoon of 2400 to ^600 feet of silk fiber. 

 Do you know what the larvae eat and how silk 

 thread is made from the cocoons? (American 



MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY) 



Insects with scaly wings. This group 

 includes moths and butterflies. These 

 insects have large wings covered with 

 tiny scales. The scales are often brightly 

 colored and in some species are arranged 

 in gay patterns. They are loosely at- 

 tached, as you know if you have ever 

 handled a butterfly or moth. If you use 

 a microscope you can see that the 

 "powder" that comes ofi" the wing con- 

 sists of these scales. The bodies of moths 

 have much more "hair" on them than 

 have those of butterflies; their bodies 



Fig. 54 Coiled sucking tube of a moth, (gen- 

 eral BIOLOGICAL supply) 



are also heavier and often more clumsy. 



Butterflies and moths suck nectar (a 

 sugary liquid) from flowers. The mouth 

 parts form a tube, sometimes a very long 

 tube, w hich is kept coiled up when not 

 in use as illustrated in Figure 54. When 

 extended some tubes Mill reach the nectar 

 bags at the bottom of deep flowers. 



The feelers or antennae of moths are 

 feather-like, while those of the butterfly 

 are smooth and sometimes knobbed at the 

 tip. If you watch moths and butterflies 

 when they alight you will detect yet 



