there areas many butterflies as birds in North America. 

 The hvrger part of the land animals are Insects, and it 

 is asserted that the larger proportion of the animal mat- 

 ter existing on the lands of the globe is 

 probably locked up in the forms of In- 



lusects vary in size from little beetles, 

 of which it would take 100, placed end to 

 end, to measure an inch, up to tropical 

 species 6 or 8 inches in length, or of equal 



INSECTS 



bees and some other Insects, there hatches a worm-like 

 creature, much unlike the parent Insect. It is called a 

 larva (Fig. 1139); the larvae of butterflies and moths 

 are often called caterpillars (Fig. IHOJ ; maggots are 

 the larviB of flies (Fig. 1141); and the term griib is 

 applied to the larvte of beetles and bees (Fig. 1142). 

 When these larvro get their full growth, some of them go 

 into the ground, where they form an earthen cell, while 

 others proceed to spin around themselves a silken home 

 or cocoon (Figs. 1143, 1144, 1145). In these retreats the 

 larvae change to a quiescent or lifeless-appearing crea- 

 ture which has little resemblance to either the larva 

 or the parent Insect It is called a piipn (Fig 114C) 

 The pupa? of butterfl es are often calle i 1 j I Is 



Pl( 



ge 



Ter 



1 then 



jj£ tiary rocks indii-ate 

 were more kinds of 

 than now. 

 t Their Growth and Transfor- 



mations. Fig. 1137.- Insects 

 begin life as an egg ; in some cases the egg stage 

 is passed within the body of the mother, which then 



1145. End of cocoo 



Cecropia moth. 



Inside view, show 



where the moth gets 



gives 

 hibit 



thoiisii 



irth 



of Insects ex- 

 i/.cs, colors and 



Insect may lay 

 ■ '■ produce only 

 . II by the mother 

 young will find 



Insect lu ijUielljy hi i cyg., \\ 1 

 proper food. 



From their birth the young of some of the lowest or 

 most generalized Insects closely resemble their parents, 

 and they undergo no striking change during their life; 

 hence are said to have no metamorphosis. 



In the case of grasshoppers, stink-bugs, dragon-flies, 

 and many other Insects, the young at birth resemble 

 their parents, but Imve no winys. .Xs tlifv prow, wings 

 gradually de'vi-L I] I u-i,\ mFnii rlcn-i ~ in iii:i rl.in-^ -iccur, 

 until the .adiili -. ~ ■ ] :, ,, •,. i I': , , i': l,.,ivrver, 

 is gradual. :iiiil i.^ ■! i' ■ i ■ -i ' '. .- - • urs, 



f o u a r 1 ug lar a to bea t ful fl> nt a lult In ect 

 When the adult s f lly formed it breaks s fupal 

 shro d and emerge to. spend a con j arat velj I r ef ex 



tence as a w nged crea ure "^uch In ects are sa d to 

 undergo a complete metamorphosis, and pass through 

 four strikingly different stages during their life: the 

 egg, the worm-like larva, the quiescent pupa, and the 

 adult Insect. Such remarkable changes or transforma- 

 tions make the story of an Insect's life one of intense 

 interest to one who reads it from nature's book. Vari- 

 ous kinds of adult Insects, or imagoes, are shown in 

 Figs. 1147-1152. 



No two kinds of Insects have the same life-story to 

 tell. Some pass their whole life 



Ton a single host ; some partake 

 of only a certain kind of food, 

 while others thrive on many 

 kinds of plants ; some are can- 

 nibals at times, and others, like 

 the parasites, are boarders with- 

 in their host, while many prey 

 openly on their brethren in the 

 Insect world. Usuallv the life 

 of the adult Insect is brief, but 

 ants have been kept for thir- 

 1149. A beetle. teen years, and the pprindical 



The .-ulult of a borer larva, cicada has t.. s|.iiiil si.vi-ntrcn 



before it is fitted to become a denizen of the ;iir. The 

 winter months may be passed in any of the ililTercnt 

 stages of the Insect's life. Two very closely allied In- 

 sects may have very different life habits. 



Sow They Grow.—Msmy people believe that the small 

 house-flies grow to be the large ones. While most In- 

 sects feed after they become adults, they get little or 

 none of their growth during their adult lite. Insects 

 grow mostly while they are larvee, or nymphs. The 

 maggots from which the little Imuse-fiies develop doubt- 

 li-ss do niit hiivc as liixiiriiint or favorable feeding 

 >,'n.niiils as il<, tli..sr ,,f ili, lartrr-r flies. In 30 days 

 s..nir lraf-fci-<liii- ratri-iiillars will increase in size 



1147. The cabbage butterfly. 



plete metamorphosis pass through three different forms 

 during their life: an egg, the young or mjmph stage, 

 and the adult. 



From the eggs of butterflies, moths, flies, beetles. 



l.iil,, ,,!.. I,:,n:i |„,,ii,,l - 111, !:i -I >::.v 1150. One of the 

 of Us ixisti-niM-! The skill of In- weevil beetles 

 sects is so hard and inelastic that With a long and 

 it cannot stretch to accommodate strong proboscis, 

 such rapid growth. But nature ob- 

 viates this difficulty by teaching these creatures how 

 to grow a new suit of clothes or a new skin under- 

 neath the old one, and then to shed or moult the lat- 



