CHAPTEE III. 



MOULTING OF THE LARVA. 



WE are now to enter upon a very interesting 

 part of the history of a larva : this is called moult- 

 ing, and consists in the larva casting off its old 

 skin, and appearing clothed in a new garment, 

 often more brilliant than before. The change is 

 well and clearly described in the following passage 

 from the Introduction to Entomology, of Messrs. 

 Kirby and Spence : " A day or two previously 

 to each change of skin, the larva ceases eating 

 altogether; it becomes languid and feeble; its 

 beautiful colours fade ; and it seeks a retreat 

 in which it can undergo this important and some- 

 times dangerous and even fatal operation in secu- 

 rity. Here, either fixing itself by its legs to the 

 surface on which it rests, or, as is the case with 

 many caterpillars, by its pro-legs, to a slight web 



