STATES OF INSECTS. (Larva.) 209 
support itself, the anxious spectator expects to see it fall 
to the earth. His fears, however, are vain; the supple 
segments of the pupa’s abdomen serve in the place of 
arms. Between two of these, as with a pair of pincers, it 
seizes on a portion of the skin; and bending its body once 
more, entirely extricates its tail from it. It is now wholly 
out of the skin, against one side of which it is supported, 
but yet at some distance from the leaf. The next step it 
must take is to climb up to the required height. For this 
purpose it repeats the same ingenious manceuvre, making 
its cast-off skin serve as a sort of ladder, it successively 
with different segments seizes a higher and a higher 
portion, until in the end it reaches the summit, where 
with its tail it feels for the silken threads that are to sup- 
port it. But how can the tail be fastened to them? you 
ask. ‘This difficulty has been provided against by Cre- 
ative Wisdom. The tail of the pupa is furnished with 
numerous little hooks pointing in different directions’, 
as well adapted to the end in view as the crotchets of the 
larva’s prolegs, and some of these hooks are sure to fast- 
en themselves upon the silk the moment the tail is thrust 
amongst it. Our pupa has now nearly completed its la- 
bours; it has withdrawn its tail from the slough, climbed 
up it, and suspended itself to the silken hillock—manceu- 
vres so delicate and perilous, that we cannot but admire 
that an insect which executes them but once in its life, 
should execute them so well: nor could it, as Reaumur 
has well and piously observed, had it not been instructed 
by a Great Master. One more exertion remains: it 
seems to have as great an antipathy to its cast-off skin, 
4 Prate XXIII. Fic. 8. a. 
VOL. III. ue 
