38 



THE LIFE OF AN INSECT. 



impossible that in the most drenching shower the 

 eggs, warmly wrapped up within, should be wetted 

 or otherwise injured, and the down itself, being a 

 material which, as we all know, is a non-conductor, 

 preserves the eggs from the influence of the most 

 severe frosts. In shape, this nest of eggs resembles 

 a skittle, or a truncated cone, the broad end down- 

 wards. The engraving represents this form, and 

 also shows the insect at work constructing the nest. 

 Let us now pass on, to mention, that many eggs 

 are deposited without any special protection of the 

 kind we have described, and without what would 



be with propriety termed 

 a nest. A moth, called 

 the lackey - moth, fre- 

 quently ornaments the 

 young twigs of trees 

 in our gardens with 

 exquisite bracelets of 

 glistening white eggs, 

 looking like beads. From 



tWO t0 thre6 hundred Of 



(Natural size, and magnified.) 



CggS are glued 



by the insect around the twig, by means of a 

 tenacious waterproof cement, and are arranged 



