174 NATURE'S STORY OF THE YEAR 



the death. There are toils to be undertaken for 

 food and for the helpless young progeny that 

 will never be seen by the workers. Daily clean- 

 sing must be performed, and even the common 

 flies and beetles have prolonged operations of the 

 toilet ! The spider repairs his torn web ; moth and 

 butterfly select with care the places for repose ; the 

 wasp, repeatedly driven from table sweets, returns 

 at a risk she evidently appreciates to obtain a 

 dainty for her little ones. None frets over the diffi- 

 culty of existence, but each bravely fulfils its task. 

 The man who studies any of these things finds 

 the middle of summer a busy time, for each day 

 then brings forth a fresh troupe of interesting forms. 

 The schoolboy starts his annual collection, which 

 will probably be spoiled before the winter. Butter- 

 flies are generally the insects sought and no 

 wonder, for, pretty themselves, they are obtained 

 by a chase in delightful surroundings. Therefore 

 it is not strange that our rarer and more beautiful 

 kinds are yearly becoming more difficult to obtain. 

 The best excuse is that the collected insects are 

 actually preserved to please their captors for years, 

 when perhaps a few weeks, or a few days, would 



