14 



TRANSFORMATIONS OF INSECTS. 



or thorax ; the last two are rudimentary, and have become closed 

 in at the end of the abdomen, like the slides of a telescope. A 

 closer examination of the inside of the moth proves that certain 

 changes in the length and grouping of the important nervous 

 organs have accompanied this shortening and coalescence of the 

 abdominal segments. 



The change in the consistence of the integuments is very- 

 decided in the chrysalis. It is not at first very evident in the 

 moth, but if the body of one is cleared from the hairs which 

 clothe it, the dorsal (back) and ventral (underneath) portions will 

 be noticed to have become coriaceous, whilst the lateral parts or 

 the sides have retained their former softness. The vestiges of 

 the two arches of the original segments are thus preserved. 



Many insects, instead of having soft skins like the moths and 



MEMBRANOUS LEGS OF THE SILKWORM CATERPILLAR NOT FOUND ON THE MOTH. 



caterpillars, have the integument of the abdomen very hard and 

 strong. Such is the case with most of the larvae of flesh-eating 

 beetles, which come out of the Qgg much more mature than many 

 others, and Avhose abdominal segments are nearly covered with 

 solid plates. 



Let us examine the larva of a large carnivorous beetle, the 

 Calosovia sycophanta. The abdomen consists, as in the cater- 

 pillars, of nine distinct segments ; ten might be counted if the 

 terminal tubercle were considered to be a ring. Examined from 

 above (dorsal), the rings show a large back piece, divided by a 

 groove in the middle, and on either side a small plate answering 

 to those which are to be seen just above the junction of the legs 

 to the thorax. It may be noticed as a faint line between the 



