THE ANTENNA THEIR SHAPE. 357 



the insect economy. As to their structure, when 

 examined under a microscope, antennas are found 

 to be composed of a variable number of small 

 round pieces, covered with a horny or leathery 

 skin, but within being softer and hollow, so as to 

 form a series of tubes placed end to end, all con- 

 nected together in such a manner as to admit of 

 free movement between each joint, so that the 

 insect can bend them into any shape it may find 

 expedient for its purposes. But it must not be 

 supposed that all antennae are similar in form, 

 or there would be a risk of their being con- 

 tinually mistaken by the reader for some other 

 organ. The cut on the next page will, at a glance, 

 exhibit the astonishing variety of form assumed 

 by these organs. The common cock-chafer is pos- 

 sessed of antennae as strikingly different in form 

 from those of the butterfly, as if they were really 

 distinct organs intended and adapted to serve diffe- 

 rent purposes. Some are long and threadlike, some 

 resemble a necklace of pearls, some are notched 

 like a saw, some have a resemblance to a fan, some 

 are like a club, some resemble a fork, and some a 

 feather ; in short, their variety of form is almost 

 endless : and they differ as much in length and in 



