The Life-History and Anatomy of Butterflies 
first of which, nearest the body, is called the coxa , with 
which articulates a ring-like piece known as the trochanter. To 
this is attached the femur, and united with the femur, forming 
an angle with it, is the tibia. To the tibia is attached the tarsus, 
or foot, the last segment of which bears the claws, which are often 
very minute and blunt in the butterflies, though in moths they are 
sometimes strongly hooked. The tibiae are often armed with 
spines. In some groups of butterflies the anterior pair of legs is 
aborted, or dwarfed, either in one or both sexes, a fact which is 
useful in determining the location of species in their systematic 
order. 
The Wings.— The wings of butterflies consist of a framework 
of horny tubes which are in reality double, the inner tube being 
Fig. 37.—Androconia from 
wings of male butterflies: a, 
Neonympha eurytus ; b, Ar- 
gyttni* aphrodite ; c, Pieris 
oleracea. 
Fig. 36.—Magnified representation ot 
arrangement of the scales on the wing of a 
butterfly. 
filled with air, the outer tube with blood, which circulates most 
freely during the time that the insect is undergoing the process of 
development after emergence from the chrysalis, as has been al¬ 
ready described. After emergence the circulation of the blood in the 
outer portion of the tubes is largely, if not altogether, suspended. 
These horny tubes support a broad membrane, which is clothed 
in most species upon both sides with flattened scales which are 
attached to the membrane in such a way that they overlap one 
another like the shingles on a roof. These scales are very beau¬ 
tiful objects when examined under a microscope, and there is 
considerable diversitv in their form as well as in their colors. The 
