INTRODUCTION. 65 



moth, named by the fancy the Glory of Kent 

 (Endromis versicolor), which are bright yellow on 

 their first exclusion, and then become successively 

 green, rose-colour, and black. 



The profuse fertility of most insects is well known, 

 and the subjects of the present notice partake largely 

 of this general attribute of their race. The Silk- 

 worm-moth, for example, lays about 500 eggs, the 

 Goat-moth 1000, and the Tiger-moth 1600. They 

 are deposited either singly or in groups, and in the 

 latter case are often arranged in a uniform symme- 

 trical order by the parent moth, a process in which 

 she manifests great ingenuity and prospective care, 

 both for the preservation of the eggs and the welfare 

 of the future young. The insoluble gum with which 

 they are usually covered, protects them from the in- 

 fluence of the weather when they are left exposed. 

 But in many cases they are placed under some kind 

 of shelter, and several species cover them with down, 

 which they pluck from their own bodies by means 

 of a pair of anal pincers with which they are pro- 

 vided apparently for this express purpose. 



The caterpillars of moths are much more varied 

 in their general forms and in the structure of their 

 parts than those of butterflies, and indeed they may 

 be said to be formed on a greater variety of models 

 than most other animals. Their clothing and ap- 

 pendages are likewise extremely various ; every kind 

 of the former found in butterfly-larvae being ob 

 served among them, besides several others peculiar 

 to themselves. One of their most important varia 



