PEEFACE 



rpHE object of this little book is to afford an out- 

 line sketch of the facts and meaning of insect 

 transformations. Considerations of space forbid any- 

 thing like an exhaustive treatment of so vast a subject, 

 and some aspects of the question, the physiological 

 for example, are almost neglected. Other books 

 already published in this series, such as Dr Gordon 

 Hewitt's House-flies and Mr O. H. Latter's Bees 

 and Wasps, may be consulted with advantage for 

 details of special insect life-stories. Recent re- 

 searches have emphasised the practical importance 

 to human society of entomological study, and insects 

 will always be a source of delight to the lover of 

 nature. This humble volume will best serve its 

 object if its reading should lead fresh observers to 

 the brookside and the woodland. 



G. H. C. 



DUBLIN, 



July, 1913. 



