314 THE LIFE OF AN INSECT. 



singular objects, about which so much has been 

 said. The pupa, ready to burst open and let loose 

 the struggling captive within, is before him ; the 

 skin splits, the body of the insect appears^ withdraws 

 itself from the pupa-case and inner membranes, 

 and the imago appears before him. But O, how 

 different from the splendidly adorned insect which 

 we know it is still to become ! Its tender body is 

 weak, soft, and languid, and bedewed with moisture. 

 Its wings, instead of being of their usual size, and 

 variegated with such glowing and admirably con- 

 trasted colours as only a Divine hand could create, 

 are in the largest sized butterflies scarcely bigger 

 than the nail of the little finger ; instead of being 

 uplifted in full strength and beauty, they hang 

 drooping down over the sides of the trunk ; and 

 their colours are all dull, and muddy, and without 

 any of those distinct spots and beautifully defined 

 marks, streaks, and bands, which we observe with 

 so much admiration in the wings of these insects. 

 Altogether we might take it rather for a mutilated 

 and imperfect insect, instead of what, in spite of 

 its unattractive appearance, it really is, a perfect 

 insect, and in a short time to become a splendid 

 one. 



