50 THE LIFE OF AN INSECT. 



eggs of the chameleon fly, as we are told by the 

 gentlemen last quoted, are at first pure white ; 

 then change to green, and finally turn to a deep 

 olive-green. Others are at first mouse-coloured, 

 then reddish, and, lastly, black. The eggs of a 

 kind of moth we have seen first of the colour of 

 sulphur, then becoming green, after that rose- 

 colour, and lastly, black. In the instances of the 

 common gnat and silk-worm, similar changes 

 of colour take place. The eggs of the gnat are 

 first white, then green, and finally gray ; and those 

 of the silk-worm are in the first instance of a 

 pale yellow, and ultimately take on a violet tint. 

 Having thus noticed these points in connexion 

 with the Life of an Insect, we are led to that 

 most important of all periods, the dawn of life 

 in the egg, or, in common terms, the period of 

 hatching. But before proceeding to the sub- 

 ject, may we not pause and wonder as we behold 

 the varied manifestations of the Creator's wisdom 

 in the actions of the minute, and, as we often call 

 them, insignificant creatures of whom we have 

 spoken ? Should David say, when he beheld the 

 sun, moon, and stars, as the work of a Divine 

 hand, " Lord, what is man, that thou considerest 



