LEPIDOPTERA. 237 



insect would inevitably fall, while endeavoring to accomplish 

 its object. But, although unprovided with ordinary limbs, it 

 is not left without the means to extricate itself from its present 

 difficulty. The hinder and tapering part of the chrysalis con- 

 sists of several rings or segments, so joined together as to be 

 capable of moving from side to side upon each other; and 

 these supply to it the place of liTinds. By bending together 

 two of these rings near the middle of the body, the chrysalis 

 seizes, in the crevice between them, a portion of the empty 

 caterpillar-skin, and clings to it so as to support itself while it 

 withdraws its tail from the remainder of the skin. It is now 

 wholly out of the skin, to which it hangs suspended by nipping 

 together the rings of its body; but, as the chrysalis is much 

 shorter than the caterpillar, it is yet at some distance from the 

 tuft of sillc, to which it must climb before it can fix in it the 

 hooks of its hinder extremity. To do this, it extends the rings 

 of its body as far apart as possible, then, bending together two 

 of them above those by which it is suspended, it catches hold 

 of the skin higher up, at the same time letting go below, and, 

 by repeating this process with different rings in succession, it 

 at length reaches the tuft of silk, entangles its hooks among 

 the tln-eads, and then hangs suspended without further risk of 

 falling. It next contrives to dislodge the cast caterpillar-skin 

 by whirling itself around repeatedly, till the old skin is finally 

 loosened from its attachment and falls to the ground. The 

 whole of this operation, difficult as it may seem, is performed 

 in the space of a very few minutes, and rarely does the insect 

 fail to accomplish it successfully and safely. 



The caterpillars of many of the four-footed butterflies are 

 spiny, or have their backs armed with numerous projecting 

 points; these, in some, are short, and soft, and beset all around 

 with very small stiff hairs, in others they are long, hard, and 

 sharp prickles, which generally are furnished with little stiff 

 branches. The butterflies have the knobs of the antennae 

 short and broad ; the feelers are rather long, and placed close 

 together, at the base at least; the inner margin of the hind 

 wings is folded downwards, and grooved for the reception of 

 the bodv; the central mesh of these wings is not closed behind; 



