174 



THE INSECT WOELD. 



the butterfly does not want to take nourishment, the trunk remains 

 rolled in a spiral. Some are so short, that they scarcely make one 



Fig. 137. Antennae of Lepidoptera. 



turn and a half or two turns ; some larger sized make three turns 

 and a half or four turns : lastly, some very long are curled as 

 many as eight or ten times. 



This is how the butterfly makes use of its trunk : When it is 

 fluttering round a flower, it will very soon settle on or quite 

 close to it. It then brings it forward entirely or almost en- 

 tirely unrolled ; very soon afterwards it almost straightens it, 

 directs it downwards and plunges it into the flower. Sometimes 

 it draws it out a moment after, curves it, twists it a little, and 

 sometimes even curls .it partially up. Immediately it straightens 

 it again to plunge it a second time into the same flower. It 

 repeats the same manoeuvre seven or eight times, and then flies 

 on to another. 



