1458 THE STORY OF THE UNIVERSE 



different kinds of eggs of frog-hoppers, which have 

 for over thirty years eluded my search. 



One more genus remains to be noticed, and it is 

 the most fairy-like of all the Mymaridae, viz., Camp- 

 toptera papaveris. It is the smallest of the family, 

 the female being but one-eighty-fifth of an inch long. 

 Mystery surrounds this gem, and yet it is most plenti- 

 ful in certain localities. The male, of which I have 

 only taken two specimens, measures just one-ninety- 

 second of an inch from head to tail, and yet is ab- 

 solutely perfect in every part. 



INSECT TRANSFORMA- 

 TIONS. ANDREW WILSON 



MOST people are aware, as a piece of common- 

 place knowledge, that many animals, before 

 arriving at their mature or adult state, undergo 'a 

 series of changes in form, of a more or less complete 

 character. To such a series of changes the naturalist 

 applies the term "metamorphosis" ; and the study of 

 the disguises which an animal may in this way suc- 

 cessively assume forms one of the most interesting 

 and fascinating subjects that can attract the notice of 

 the observer. 



The great insect-class presents us with the most fa- 

 miliar examples of these changes, and the butterflies 

 and moths exemplify metamorphosis in its most typi- 

 cal aspect. Thus we know that from the egg of the 

 butterfly, deposited by the short-lived parent upon 

 the leaves of plants, a crawling grub-like creature is 

 first developed. This form we name the "larva" or 



