CHAPTER XXIV 



THE METAMORPHOSIS 



inclosed in its cocoon, the caterpillar 

 withers and shrivels up, as if dying. First, 

 the skin splits on the back; then, by repeated con- 

 vulsions that pull it this way and that, the worm 

 with much difficulty tears off its skin. With the 

 skin comes everything: the case of the skull, jaws, 

 eyes, legs, stomach and the rest. It is a general 

 tearing-off. The ragged covering of the old body 

 is finally pushed into a corner of the cocoon. 



"What do they find then in the cells of silk? An- 

 other caterpillar, a butterfly! Neither. They find 

 an almond shaped body, rounded at one end, pointed 

 at the other, of a leathery appearance, and called a 

 chrysalis. It is an intermediate state between the 

 caterpillar and the butterfly. There can be seen 

 certain projections which already indicate the shape 

 of the future insect : at the large end can be distin- 

 guished the antennae and the wings tightly folded 

 crosswise on the chrysalis. 



"The larvae of the June bug, Capricorn, stag- 

 beetle, and other beetles-pass through a similar state, 

 but with more accentuated forms. The different 

 parts of the head, wings, legs delicately folded at 

 their sides, are very recognizable. But all is immo- 

 bile, soft, white, or even transparent as crystal. 



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