240 



Insect Architecture. 



every sort of insect, from a butterfly to a beetle ; and the 

 soft, feathery wings of moths answer their purpose very 

 well: but when they fall in with such hard materials as 

 the musk beetle (Ceravibyx moscJiatusJ, or the large scolo- 

 pendra of the West Indies, they find some difficulty in the 

 building. 



When the structure is finished, the insect deems itself 

 secure to feed on the materials of the cloth or other animal 

 matter within its reach, provided it is dry and free from fat 



Transformations of the honeycomb-moths, a a a, Galleries of the cell-boring cater- 

 pillar ; b, the female; c, the male moth (Galleria alvearia) ; d d d d, galleries of the 

 wax-eating caterpillar, e^seen at the entrance ; /, the same exposed ; g t its cocoon ; h, the 

 moth (Galleria cereana). 



or grease, which Keaumur found it would not touch. This 

 may probably be the origin of the practice of putting a bit of 

 caudle with furs, &c., to preserve them from the moth. For 

 building, it always selects the straightest and loosest pieces 

 of wool, but for food it prefers the shortest and most compact ; 

 and to procure these it eats into the body of the stuff, rejecting 

 the pile or nap, which it necessarily cuts across at the origin, 

 and permits to fall, leaving it threadbare, as if it had been 



