LIFE HISTORY AND HABITS, 



If we catch a female butterfly, for instance, the very common one that 

 is figured (fig. 24) and keep it in a suitable cage, it will lay eggs. These 

 eggs are shown in figs. 19-20 much magnified, and in another figure 

 (fig. 18) are shown the eggs of another butterfly both magnified and 

 natural size. The eggs are small white seed-like things and laid singly 

 on the leaves of a plant. If we keep these eggs, they will presently 

 hatch into caterpillars (fig. 21) ; these are somewhat worm-like in appear- 

 ance, with legs and sucker-feet, totally different from the butterfly 



Fm. 20. 

 offer Caterpillar leaves it. 



FIG. 19. 

 Butterfly Egg. (Magnified.) Egg after Caterpillar leaves it. (Magnified.) 



in habits and structure. These caterpillars eat the leaves of the 

 plant and moult as they grow larger; at each moult the colour 

 changes very slightly, and the caterpillar comes out much larger. There 

 are five such moults, and at the end of twelve or fifteen days the caterpillar 

 has attained to its full size (fig. 22). It now ceases to feed, becomes 



FIG. 21. 



Young Caterpillar. 



FIG. 22. 



Full grown Caterpillar. 



uneasy ; it is preparing for another moult. To do this it fastens a small 

 pad of silk at some point on the leaf of the plant, and fixing the hooks 

 of its tail sucker-feet in the silk, hangs itself head downwards from the 

 pad of silk. The skin bursts and is thrown off and the insect is seen 

 hanging from the leaf. It is now completely changed in appearance and 

 is called a chrysalis ; ] it is a rounded, green object, with pretty gold 

 markings (fig. 23) ; there are no limbs, no mouth, no eyes ; spiracles alone 

 can be seen. This curious creature hangs motionless from the plant for 



* Chrysalis); plural chrysalides. 



