Popular Science Monthly 



825 



it will select will be the underside 

 of the broadest leaf, to which 

 it will attach itself by means 

 of a sticky, silky substance 

 which it spins out. Here 

 it will hang, head down, 

 with its body curved up 

 in the form of a hook. 



The newly-emerged 

 butterfly. Its body 

 is over-large and its 

 wings much crum- 

 pled but as the 

 wings slowly unfold 

 the body decreases 



After about twenty- 

 four hours the body 

 straightens out and 

 begins to twitch and 

 wriggle as if the little 

 creature were in great 

 pain. The head and 

 up{>er portion of the 

 body begin to swell. 

 Finally the skin 

 bursts, revealing the 

 beautifulpupa or shell 

 in which the rest of 

 the transformation is to take place. 



The old skin is dropped off and for 

 three hours the pupa hangs like a little 

 jewel bright green in color and ornamented 

 with a circle of golden spots near the top. 

 Perhaps you have spied one of these little 

 milkweed jewels during your rambles; but 

 common as they are, they are so well 



The perfect butterfly. The last hour be- 

 fore it Anally soars away from the milk- 

 weed stalk sees the most rapid change of all 



hidden that they are seldom dis- 

 covered. You may leave your 

 little guest now for from ten 

 to twelve days, for although 

 there is a wonderful change 

 going on inside the shell 

 there will be nothing you 

 can see until about ten 

 hours before the end of 

 the process. Then the 

 shell will begin to change 

 in color from green to 

 brown and will become 

 transparent. You will be 

 able to see the folded wings 

 of the butterfly inside. The 

 time has now come when you 

 must watch closely or you 

 will miss the most interesting 

 part of all. Without a mo- 

 ment's warning the shell 

 bursts and the but- 

 terfly emerges — a 

 creature all body and 

 with small, much- 

 J^ ^^ crumpled wings. The 



^■j^ actual time consumed 



^^v in the emergence is 



f ^^' , I^ss than one minute. 



At first sight you may 

 think that something 

 has gone wrong, for 

 the little creature cer- 

 tainly looks deformed 

 and not at all like the 

 beautiful butterflies 

 that we see hovering 

 about the flowers in 

 the fields and gardens. 

 But slowly the wings 

 unfold, and as stead- 

 ily the body grows 

 smaller, for the life 

 forces are being 

 pumped fro'm the 

 body into the wings 

 which are to be the 

 crowning glorv* of the 

 new existence. 



While the wings 

 are drying, the little 

 creature timidly tests them, opening and 

 closing them slowly until, gaining courage 

 as the wings grow^ stronger, it soars out 

 into its new life, a new creature gorgeous- 

 ly beautiful and entirely forgetful of its 

 former groveling worm-hood. The miracle 

 has been accomplished under our very eyes 

 and yet we can scarcely credit it. 



