224 TRANSFORMATION OF INSECTS. 



State of imbecility, insects select the most proper places and j 



modes of concealing themselves from their enemies. Some, j 



as the silk-worm and others, spin silken webs round their \ 



bodies, by which the animal form is completely disguised. : 



Others leave the plants upon which they formerly fed, and j 



hide themselves in little cells which they make in the earth. | 



Some fix themselves by a gluten, and spin a rope round their | 



middle to prevent them from falling. Others attach them- ' 



selves to walls, with their heads higher than their bodies, but , 



in various inclinations. In this state many remain motion- ; 



less and seemingly inanimate, during the whole winter. | 



Behold the insect race, ordained to keep i 



The lazy Sabbath of a half year's sleep ; i 



Entombed, beneath the filmy web they lie, i 



And wait the influence of a kinder sky. ^■ 



When vernal sun-beams pierce their dark retreat, i 



The heaving tomb distends with vital heat ; .; 

 The full formed brood impatient of their cell, "Mr^ 



Start from their trance and burst their silken shell ; *^ ^ 



Trembling, awhile they stand, and scarcely dare s 



To launch at once upon the untried air : ^ i 

 At length assured, they catch the favouring gale, jp« 



And leave their sordid spoils and high in ether sail. ™ ^ 



Barbauld. ; 



Questions — 1. For what are insects remarkable ? 2. What havo j 



they instead of a heart ? 3. What have they to answer the purpose [ 



of a respiratory organ ? 4. Brain and nervous system? 5. What is j 



said of their senses and external covering ? C. What are antennae ? ^ 

 7. Describe the eyes of insects. 8. What are the changes called 

 which winged insects undergo ? 9. Give a description of these 



changes in the example of the butterfly. 10. What is tlie animal ! 



called in its first — second — ^third state .^ 11. Describe what is called i 

 domi-metamorphosis. 12. What are some of the artifices of insects 



when about to enter the chrysaUs state ? [Note. All insects have 'j 



six legs, with the exception of the millepedes, (pronounced mil'le- j 



pedz, or mil-lep'e-dez) which have always more, and the number in- | 



creases also with their age. ^ur clia a.nd Chrysalis nre synonymous: • 

 words, both alluding to the metallic or golden splendour of the case in 



which insects are enclosed during that state. This brilliancy how- \ 



ever seems to be confined to the butterfly tribe. The name Pupa has « 

 lately been substituted for chrysalis and aurelia, because many insects 



in this state are thought to resemble an infant in swaddling clothes. \ 



