NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



INSECTS AND ALLIED FORMS OF 

 LIFE— BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS 



So much has been written in this book about the 

 havoc wrought by insects and allied forms of life that 

 some knowledge in regard to them and their life 

 history may be us'eful. The great majority of insects 

 are pests, but, nevertheless, there are numbers of species 

 which are beneficial to man. 



Butterflies and moths are grouped under the order 

 Lepidoptera, that is, the order of insects with scaly 

 wings. The butterfly differs in a number of ways 

 from the moth. The antennae or movable appendages 

 which stand out from the head are plain or feathered 

 in the moth; those of the butterfly are more or less 

 club shaped at the tips. The two pairs of wings in 

 the moth are fastened together by a beautiful little 

 arrangement of hook and eye, the hook on the inner 

 margin of one wing locking into the eye of the upper 

 wing. Butterflies lack this provision. 



Butterflies fly by day; the great majority of the 

 moths fly by night and are attracted by light. When 

 at rest the wings are either wrapped round the body, 

 spread horizontally, or folded roof-like on the abdomen; 

 they are not held in a vertical position above the body. 



The life history of these insects is marvellously 

 interesting, and is one of the most wonderful series 

 of events in Nature. The female moth or butterfly, 

 after mating, lays its precious eggs on trees, shrubs, 

 crops, or young growing plants of one sort or another. 



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