THE CATERPILLAR. 



495 



Those of them which are capable of spin- 

 ning themselves a web, set about this oper- 

 ation ; those which have already spun, await 

 the change in the best manner they are able. 

 The web or cone, with which some cover 

 themselves, hides the aurelia contained within 

 from the view ; but in others, where it is more 

 transparent, the caterpillar, when it has done 

 spinning, strikes into it the claws of the two 

 feet under the tail, and afterwards forces in 

 the tail itself, by contracting those claws, and 

 violently striking the feet one against the 

 other. If, however, they be taken from their 

 web at this time, they appear in a state of 

 great languor; and, incapable of walking, re- 

 main on that spot where they are placed. In 

 this condition they remain one or two days, 

 preparing to change into an aurelia ; some- 

 what in the manner they made preparations 

 for changing their skin. They then appear 

 with their bodies bent into a bow, which they 

 now and then are seen to straighten : they 

 make no use of their legs ; but if they attempt 

 to change place, do it by the contortions of 

 their body. In proportion as their change 

 into an aurelia approaches, their body becomes 

 more and more bent; while their extensions 

 and convulsive contractions become more fre- 

 quent. The hinder end of the body is the 

 part which the animal first disengages from 

 its caterpillar skin; that part of the skin re- 

 mains empty, while the body is drawn up 

 contractedly towards the head. In the same 

 manner they disengage themselves from the 

 two succeeding rings; so that the animal 

 is then lodged entirely in the fore part of its 

 caterpillar covering: that half which is aban- 

 doned, remains flaccid and empty ; while the 

 fore part on the contrary, is swollen and dis- 

 tended. The animal, having thus quitted the 

 hinder part of its skin, to drive itself up into 

 the forepart, still continues to heaye and work 

 as before ; so that the skull is soon seen to 

 burst into three pieces, and a longitudinal 

 opening is made in the three first rings of the 

 body, through which the insect thrusts forth 

 its naked body with strong efforts. Thus at 

 last it entirely gets free from its caterpillar 

 skin, and for ever forsakes its most odious rep- 

 tile form. 



The caterpillar, thus stripped of its skin 

 for the last time, is now become an aurelia : 

 in which the parts of the future butterfly are 

 all visible ; but in so soft a state, that the 

 smallest touch can discompose them. The 

 animal is now become helpless and motion- 

 less ; but only waits for the assistance of the 

 air to dry up the moisture on its surface, and 

 supply it with a crust capable of resisting ex- 

 ternal injuries. Immediately after being 

 stripped of its caterpillar skin, it is of a green 

 colour, especially in those parts which are dis. 



tended by an extraordinary afflux of animal 

 moisture ; but in ten or twelve hours after 

 being thus exposed, its parts harden, the air 

 forms its external covering irra firm crust, and 

 in about four and twenty hours the aurelia 

 may be handled, without endangering the little 

 animal that is thus left in so defenceless a si- 

 tuation. Such is the history of the little pod 

 or cone that is found so common by every path 

 way, sticking to nettles, and sometimes shin- 

 ing like polished gold. From the beautiful 

 and resplendent colour with which it is thus 

 sometimes adorned, some authors have called 

 it a Chrysalis, implying a creature made of 

 gold. 1 



1 Transformations of the Butterfly. The metamor- 

 phoses which a butterfly undergoes will be found depicted 

 in the following Cuts. The eggs of a butterfly and moth 

 are first given, as they appear under magnifying glasses. 



The eggs of insects vary much more in form than those 

 of birds, and the reason of this appears to be that the in- 



sects themselves differ from each other in their general 

 form more than birds. In the annexed cut, fig. 1. re- 

 presents the larva just issued from the egg. Fig 2. the 



