NATURE STUDY LESSONS. 157 



Nature Study Lessons. XX. 



BY EDWARD J. BURNHAM. 



Butterflies and moths are among the first insects to at- 

 tract attention. The butterflies, by their beauty of color 

 and grace of motion, add to the charm of every summer 

 landscape, while the moths are inseparably associated with 

 early memories of twilight hours. Along with the beetles, 

 they are among the first to appear in every embrj'O collec- 

 tion, and fortunately some of the forms are so distinct and 

 so well known that the beginnings of a classification may 

 be made at once, although the great order of Lepidoptera, 

 in its many branches, offers to the most diligent an oppor- 

 tunity for a lifetime of study. 



Parents who are at all willing to assist their children in 

 nature study will of course see that some helpful book is 

 at hand. Some of these are now published at so low a 

 price as to be within the reach of all, while the more costly 

 works, with elaborate colored plates, should be in every 

 public librar}-. Where it is possible, visits should be 

 made to a museum and a happy hour passed in the study 

 of the collection. Where there is no museum near at 

 hand, parents, teachers, school authorities, library trustees 

 and all interested in the development of children should 

 unite in the work of forming one, the beginnings of which 

 may be placed in the school-room or in the librar}-. 



In a lesson like the present it is impossible to mention 

 even by name the many family groups of an order whose 

 representatives are legion. Their larvae, or caterpillars, 

 are everywhere and feed upon every growing thing. Everj' 

 plant has one or more enemies among the countless host. 

 Some feed upon the leaves, some live within the fruit, a 

 few bore into the solid wood, many live in the stalks of 

 gras.ses, and one even feeds under water in the stems of 



