192 



THE HARMONIES OF NATURE, 



habits of the gormandizing larva. A total want of appetite 

 succeds her voracious hunger, she seems to loathe the succulent 

 leaf on which she had feasted, and seeks a quiet retreat to 

 undergo her next transformation. 



In the pupa state she now does penance for her previous ex- 

 cesses, and, like an Indian fakir, remains in a motionless con- 

 dition. Frequently the skin she last has shed, 

 forms a dry and shrivelled covering in which 

 she remains encased, or she spins for herself a 

 silken dwelling in which she awaits her trans- 

 formation, or prepares a little cavity in the 

 earth and lines it with silk for the same pur- 

 pose, or suspends herself from the under- 

 surface of a leaf. But during this period 

 of apparent rest, this total seclusion from 

 the outer world, the greatest activity prevails 

 within ; all the organs needed by the perfect 

 insect are developed, and when their formation 

 is completed, she bursts her bonds, and, armed 

 with wings, emerges to the light of day as a 



Nymph or Pupa state > a a. 



of Homet (magnified). ] us trous beetle or as a gay butterfly the 



symbol of immortality. 

 But the changes of form in passing from one state to another 



are not in all instances so complete : frequently the larva bears 



a more or less close resem- 

 blance to the perfect insect ; 

 and many pupae continue to 

 feed, or to move about, or ex- 

 hibit rudiments of wings, when 

 winged in the perfect state. 

 This incomplete metamorpho- 

 sis, confined to repeated shed- 

 dings of the skin, takes place 

 for instance with the dragon- 

 fly, the grasshopper, and the 

 cockroach ; while a complete 

 transformation characterises 



"the beetles, the butterflies, the flies, ants, wasps, and bees. 

 The perfect insect ceases to grow ; its appetite is moderate, 



or even totally fails. Its chief care is the preservation of its 



The Hornet. (Vespa crabro.) 



