13 



The wings always start drying nearest the body, finishing at 

 the tip. It would be as well to mention here if the insect 

 is disturbed during the developing process, or if it is unable 

 to get a foothold where the wings can hang down, crumpled, 

 deformed wings will result. 



The hind wings are attached to the forewings in the 

 male only by a strong spine of various length, called the 

 frenulum, which fits into the retinaculum, a long curled loop, 

 which arises from the under surface of the base of the fore- 

 wing, which varies a good deal in shape, and is often 

 densely clothed with long, strong scales. This attachment 

 is peculiar to certain families of moths, and, I believe, does 

 not occur in the butterflies. In other orders different 

 methods of attachment are adopted, suitable for their flight. 

 For instance, the well-known row of hooks on the central 

 margin of the hind wyigs of the hymenopter, which fit into 

 a fold of the forewings, that of the wasp and bee being an 

 example well-known to microscopists. It is a general rule 

 among lepidoptera that the male frenulum consists of one 

 strong spine, made up of several fine spines aglutinated 

 together. In the female these spines are separate, and 

 consist of three to five or six, in the form of a brush, and 

 in this sex the retinaculum is absent. A notable exception 

 to this rule occurs in the Pterophoridcs, or plume moths, 

 where the wings are so deeply cleft as to make the insect 

 appear to have five or more distinct wings or plumes ; in 

 this family the male frenulum is not confined to a single 

 spine. 



We must now consider the marvellous joints of the 

 wing at its junction with the thorax, that enables the moth 

 to vibrate its wings with so much velocity as to permit of 

 its flight. The hard chitinous joints seem to be as nearly 

 as possible like the vertebrate bones in animals. In order 

 to obtain a satisfactory view of these, it is necessary to 

 render the whole thorax transparent ; any attempt to 

 remove the wings first would of course destroy the 

 mechanism. The costa, that is the strong upper edge of 



