402 



ANIMAL LIFE-HISTORIES 



"-b 



Fig. 922. Indian Skipper Butterfly (Badamia exclamationis) 



A, Chrysalis suspended in folded leaf, half of which has been 

 removed. B, Diagrammatic section through same. , Chry- 

 salis; b, b, d, suspensory threads; cc, cross-thread holding leaf 

 together; e, midrib of leaf. 



insect and liberty, and a piece of the chrysalis skin is used as 

 a head-shield as a orotection against the corrosive action of the 



liquid. In Burnet- Moths 

 (ZyganicUe) the chrysalis is 

 enclosed in a tapering, ham- 

 mock-shaped cocoon, attached 

 to a vertical stem. It is 

 brownish in colour, with a 

 shining surface. The chry- 

 salis partly forces its way 

 through the cocoon before the 

 moth emerges. The cater- 

 pillar of an Indian Skipper 

 Butterfly {Badamia exclama- 

 tionts, fig. 922) makes very 

 ingenious arrangements for 

 the safety of the chrysalis, 

 by fixing the edges of a leaf 

 together, and constructing suspensory threads. 



Two-winged Flies (Diptera\ The Flies of this order undergo 

 a more profound metamorphosis than any other insects, and as 

 some of them lay their eggs in all sorts of animal food, most 



persons unwillingly acquire a 

 certain amount of information 

 on the subject of their life- 

 history. The eggs of Diptera 

 hatch out into limbless mag- 

 gots, that later on become 

 pupae, which are either of firm 

 texture, or else soft, and en- 

 closed in a strong coat. 



The Hover-Flies (species of 

 Syrphus, fig. 923) commence 

 independent existence as mag- 

 gots which play havoc among 



aphides, sucking the soft contents of their bodies, and rejecting 

 the shrivelled skins. The larvae of a related insect, the Drone- 

 Fly (Eristalis tenax), has been described elsewhere (vol. ii, p. 44 1 ) 

 under the name of " rat-tailed maggot". This lives in liquid 

 filth, but the larvae of many flies are truly aquatic, e.g. those of 



Fig. 923. Hover-Flies, i, 2, and 3, Female, larva (suck- 

 ing an aphis), and pupa of Syrphus balteata; 4, 5, and 6, 

 female, larva, and pupa of S. Pyrastri; 7, female of S. 

 ribesii. 



