76 EGGS, &c. OF ANTS. 
The ants do not prepare for their lar- 
vee provisions de bouche, as happens with 
ant, furnished with organs of motion and of flight. 
How devoid of probability would appear the state- 
ment, did we not possess evidence to the contrary, 
that the magnificent butterfly we see hovering from 
flower to flower, ever drew its origin from the 
creeping caterpillar. But these changes, sur- 
prising as they are, are yet equalled by other cir- 
cumstances connected with the metamorphoses of 
insects, for with these changes in appearance, the 
animal alters its habits and mode of life. The but- 
terfly in its first or larva state of existence eats vo- 
raciously, and in a manner greatly disproportioned 
to its size, devouring twice its weight of leaves in a 
day ; in its second or pupa state, this inordinate 
appetite ceases, and all its active powers are sus- 
pended; in its third, imago, or perfect state, no 
longer bound to the spot that gave it birth, it takes 
a wider range, cleaves the regions of the air, and 
sips the nectar of flowers. That beautiful silver- 
winged insect (Libellula) now crossing our path, 
passed the first part of its existence as a water in- 
sect, and that little creature (Ephemera) we see 
sporting in the sun-beam, whose existence as a 
winged insect is limited only to a few hours, and 
seemingly with no other view than that of con- 
tinuing its kind, has also passed the first period of 
its life in the same element. The common gnat, 
that so much annoys us in our evening walks, was 
originally an inhabitant of some stagnant pool. The 
15* 
