INSECTS 



65 



Larva Stage. Eggs hatch into the larva stage, 

 which is the time of growth and when most of the 

 eating is done. The larva of a butterfly is a cater- 

 pillar, that of a fly is a maggot, and the larva of a 

 mosquito is a wiggler. Some insects eat all the 

 time during this growing stage, never going to sleep. 



Courtesy U. S. Dept. of Agriculture ^ 



Fig. 42. May beetle, called also June beetle or June bug; a, beetle; 



b, pupa; c, egg; d, newly-hatched larva; e, mature larva; 



f , anal segment of same from below. 



They stop only long enough to cast their coats. The 

 kinds that live on flesh have, in some instances, 

 been known to eat two hundred times their own 

 weight in a single day. 



Pupa Stage. The larva then goes into a resting 

 or sleeping state, enclosing itself in a case of some 

 kind. This is called the pupa stage. Silkworms 

 spin for their pupa stage a silken covering called a 

 cocoon. While in this state the insects go through 

 many wonderful changes. Wings and legs are 

 grown and after a short time the full grown or adult 



