84 Mr. A. D. Taylor. 



outhouses, trees, and the underside of leaves, firmly attaching 

 itself, in some species head downwards, in others upright, 

 with a silken cord around its body and firmly glued to its 

 resting place. 



In the other family. Moths, a few of the larvae conceal 

 themselves, enveloped in silk-spun cocoons in or under the 

 bark of trees, but most of them bury themselves a few inches 

 under ground to undergo the change into the pupa or chrysalis 

 state. 



The larva, having fixed itself in position, in a short time the 

 skin may be seen splitting and shrivelling off the body, leaving 

 it for a short time apparently naked, and in a soft jelly-like 

 condition, and now without the slightest sign of any colour. 

 Gradually the outer surface hardens, and forms a shell-like 

 case more or less transparent, in butterflies, but opaque in 

 moths. The pupa cases of some of the butterflies are more or 

 less colored, some of them with curious angles and projections 

 tipped with metallic gold-like marks ; in some the wings 

 antenns, and eyes are very prominently marked on the 

 exterior ; the pupse of moths are, with few exceptions, dull 

 brown or black. From the pupa comes the butterfly, or moth, 

 as the case may be, and now no further alteration can be 

 made ; in whatever size or condition the moth emerges from 

 its pupa case, it remains in until its death, its only apparent 

 object now being to disport itself in the world and propagate 

 its species ; if in its former state of caterpillar it has been kept 

 short of food, the result will be a smaller perfect insect, and 

 this I have found to occur frequently when rearing a large 

 number at a time. 



I now propose to endeavour to account for the color and 

 variations which are common to a certain extent to both 

 butterflies and moths, in the last named in almost endless 

 variet}'. In a few instances some of the colors on the cater- 

 pillars are more or less reproduced on the perfect insect, but 

 generally an entire change is effected. I select a few examples 

 of both. The larva of the small tortoise-shell butterfly is 

 yellowish grey, with black and brown and yellow stripes on its 

 bod}', its butterfly reddish-orange, with more or less black 

 spots and blotches, and a small white spot on each of the 

 front wings ; but another butterfly in the same genus, the 

 Peacock (Vanessa lo.), which has red and brown and black 

 marks on the fore wings, and on the hind wings the beauti- 

 ful eye-like spot formed of rings of yellow, black, red, bluish- 

 lilac, rosy and white, has a very spiny, black larva, with 

 numerous white dots, thus presenting a strong contrast in 

 color between the two stages of life. 



Several species of butterflies have metallic colored marks 



