226 



XV. 



JULY 1st. 



Transformations of Insects local Habits. Baltimore Fritillary. Large 

 Sphinx. Silver-spot Fritillary. Tawny-edged Skipper. Moths 

 rearing winter Pupae. Mould Puff-balls. Curious Beetles. He- 

 merobius. Dragon-flies. Day-flies ; other Insects. Giant Wa- 

 terfly. Buprsetis. Raspberry. Wild Strawberry. Poke. 

 Sandpiper. Blue Iris. Redtop Grass. White-throated Sparrow. 

 Large Moth. 



CHARLES. Perhaps one of the chief pleasures of natural 

 history, especially entomology, is the perpetual novelty and 

 variety we find in it : we are meeting at every turn with 

 new and interesting facts : the endless diversity of habits, 

 locality, structure, form, colour, to be found in insects, is 

 such a source of pleasure, as effectually prevents us from 

 feeling weariness or melancholy. It seems almost a con- 

 tradiction in terms, for a naturalist to be in low spirits : 

 everything he sees tends to enrapture and delight him. 

 Among these things, one of the most pleasing is the observ- 

 ation of the various transformations to which insects are 

 subject : the same individual, Proteus-like, taking new forms 

 and presenting new objects of examination to our admiring 

 eye. The caterpillars of the Forked and Orange Comma 

 Butterflies, which I took a few weeks ago, have both become 

 pupse, and the chrysalis of the Banded Purple (Limenitis 

 Arthemis) has produced the butterfly, an insect of remark- 

 able beauty : the contrast of the white, orange, and deep 



