164 INSECT LIFE. 



terflies feed on plants, but the larva of this species 

 is truly carnivorous, feeding on the vvooUj-aphids 

 known as the alder-blight. 



If the alder-blight is common in your locality, 

 search colonies of it for the larvas of this butterfly. 

 They will be found burrowing through the downy 

 mass, and their paths will be marked by the remains 

 of their victims. They resemble grubs more than 

 ordinary caterpillars, and are more or less covered 

 with the white excretion of the plant-lice. Their 

 legs and prolegs are short and small, allowing the 

 body to be closely pressed to the bark of the branch. 

 By collecting these caterpillars and feeding them with 

 the alder-blight, the transformations of the butterfly 

 can be easily observed. If you do this, save speci- 

 mens of larvas, pupae, pupa skins, and adults for your 

 collection. This species should be labeled as fol- 

 lows : — 



Order Lepidoptera (Lep-i-dop'te-ra). 



The Moths ^ the Skippers^ and the Butterflies. 



Family Lyc^nid^ (Ly-csen'i-dae). 



The Gossa?ner-winged Butterflies. 



The Grouse-locusts {Field and School Work).— 

 There is a group of small locusts the members of 

 which are remarkable for the shape of 

 the pronotum. This projects back- 

 ward like a little roof over the wings, 

 Fig. 135. and often extends beyond the end of 



A grouse-locust. , , . ^_. -^ ^ ^_._. , , 



the abdomen (Fig. 135). With these 

 insects the fore wings are in the shape of small, rough 

 scales, the hind wings being protected by the pro- 

 notum. 



