450 



Marvels of Insect Life. 



<: 





clothed with hairs. In this stage they come rather closely into resemblance with 

 moths,! and in other days some of the species were for a time regarded as moths. 

 The majority of moths have the mouth-parts developed into a long tube which 

 can be coiled up after the manner of a watch-spring when not in use ; but a few 

 species of moth are deficient in this respect. Now all the caddis-flies resemble these 

 aberrant species of moth in having their mouth-parts in a rudimentary condition. 

 The wings are thin and semi-transparent, especially the hinder pair, which are 

 larger than the fore-wings. As a rule they are of sombre tints, brown or black, 

 though a few are prettily mottled with grey or white. In most cases they have long 

 and tapering antennae, and in some species these are several times the length of 



the body. They are carried standing straight out in front 

 of the head, and close together. 



In these islands we can boast of about a hundred and 

 fifty distinct species, which are marshalled in seven 

 families ; but it is not necessary to enter into the technical 

 distinctions between these Let us rather deal with the 

 more interesting facts of their life-history in general terms. 

 The female alights upon the water, or upon some floating 

 leaf — she has been observed at times to enter the water — 

 and deposits her eggs in a small mass of jelly direct into 

 the water. As in the case of the eggs of the frog and 

 toad, the jellv absorbs a great volume of water, so that 

 in a short time it has become a cylindrical mass nearly 

 four inches long, and half an inch in diameter. Such a 

 mass includes four or five hundred green eggs. Upon 

 hatching, the minute grubs make their first meal by con- 

 suming some of the jelly. They remain for two or three 

 days about the jelly mass ; then they set to work con- 

 structing a small case of any suitable material they find 

 [/•:. siep, F.L.s. handy. They are born with the knowledge that protection 

 from the numerous enemies the water contains is an 

 essential of existence. Pretty little objects they are at 

 Originally it was longer, nearly a half thls stagc, as thcy roam ovcr thc wccds and the bottom. 



being doubled up behuid the portion f ' -^ 



that is shown clearly It was attached Spinning a tube of papcr-likc silk around the bodv, they 



to the stem of an aquatic grass. Natural ID r r . ' j 



^''-'•- attach foreign substances to it as they proceed. As they 



grow bigger the case requires to be enlarged to accommodate them, and this is 

 effected in a very ingenious manner. All additions are made to the 

 front end. The fore-body, to which the legs are attached, being the 

 broadest part, additions to the case sufficient to surround this part 

 will provide ample accommodation for the hind-body later. l)ut such 

 additions would soon make the case of unnecessary length ; so the grub cuts off 

 a portion at the rear each time it adds to the front, and keeps the same house for 

 its use until it acquires wings, though before that time the case has been gradually 

 remade entirely. The reason for this protection is found in the fact that the greater 

 length of the grub is white and soft — conspicuous and unprotected, and ofiering 



' T,cpi(loptcra. 



11 



PJioto by] 



Spawn of Caddis-Fi.y. 



The dark dots are the green i 



embedded in a cylindrical mass of jelly. 



