198 



NATURE-STUDY 



FIG. 58. Chrysalis of Milk- 

 weed Butterfly Green 

 and Gold. 



mation of the chrysalis, and the emergence from it. Observe 

 the way the caterpillar cuts away the edge of a leaf. See 

 how its jaws work. Observe the way 

 the butterfly uses his wings in flight and 

 rest. Note how the wings are held up 



rover the back and folded together when 

 at rest. Place some flowers or a dish of 

 sweetened water in the cage, and see 

 how the insect uses its long proboscis or 

 sucking tube. What does it do with 

 the tube when not in use ? 



The butterfly passes through four dis- 

 tinct stages: the egg, the larva or cater- 

 pillar, the chrysalis or pupa, and the 

 imago or the adult. This kind of growth is called indirect de- 

 velopment or, perhaps better, complete 

 metamorphism. Compare with the locust. 

 Other insects besides the butterflies have 

 this kind of development, where the differ- 

 ent stages are strikingly different from each 

 other, such as the fly, beetle, bee, and ant, 

 for example. 



Moths and butterflies belong to the order 

 of Lepidoptera (Scale-winged), so called 

 because of the colored scales on the wings. 

 These scales are arranged like the shingles 

 on a roof. The fine mealy substance that 

 rubs off on the fingers when a moth or 

 butterfly is handled consists of these scales. 



Moths are chiefly nocturnal insects, and may be distin- 

 guished from the butterflies by the fact that they hold their 



FlG. 59. Milkweed or 

 Monarch Butterfly 

 Just Out of Chrysalis. 



