LIFE IN THE INSECT WORLD. 



ly from ordinary eggs ; the insects being alive 

 within them when they are laid, and the shell 

 merely serving as a covering to protect them 

 through the winter. At some seasons of the 

 year, they are born without the shell, but many 

 of them are then enveloped in a white substance, 

 which is produced from the body of the mother. 



This substance, which is known by the name 

 of white, or American blight, is common on ap- 

 ple and some other orchard trees. In the spring 

 the leaves and stems are often so completely 

 covered with it, that they look as if flour had 

 been strewn over them, or there had been a 

 slight frost. Towards the latter part of summer, 

 this substance becomes thicker and more cottony, 

 so that the insects are effectually protected from 

 the cold. Enveloped in this downy covering, 

 they feed upon the juices of the tree, and fre- 

 quently cause its death. 



Some species of Aphides produce excrescences 

 or knobs upon the leaves of plants, which are 

 called galls. These galls vary from the size of 

 a pea to that of a man's fist. The Aphis occa- 

 sions a disease of the leaf, by puncturing it 

 with her proboscis. The gall forms, round 



