CLASS INSECTS. 445 



complete metamorphosis, and their larvae (Figs. 446, 449, 

 479, 45), known by the name of caterpillars, are provided 

 with feet towards the two extremities of their body, and live 

 generally on leaves ; some envelope themselves in a silky 

 cocoon in order to complete their transformation ; others roll 

 themselves into leaves, or suspend themselves to some foreign 

 body by means of a silken thread. 



Fig. 472. -The Bashikouay Ant. 



[This ant, also called NcJtounou by the Mpongwe, is very 

 abundant in the whole region I travelled over in Africa, and is 

 the most voracious creature I ever met. It is the dread of all 

 living animals, from the leopard to the smallest insect. I do not 

 think that they build a nest or home of any kind. At any rate, 

 they carry nothing away, but eat all their prey on the spot. It 

 is their habit t march through the forests in a long, regular line 

 a line about two inches broad, and often several miles in 

 length. The bashikouay have the sense of smell finely developed. 

 They are longer than any American ant, being at least half an 

 inch long, and are armed with very powerful fore-legs and sharp 

 jaws, with which they bite. They are red or dark brown in 

 colour. R. K.] 



Amongst the lepidoptera, some fly during the day, others 

 show themselves only at dusk, and others remain as it were 

 benumbed during the day, and appear only at night. The 

 diurnal are known by their wings being elevated vertically 

 during repose (Fig. 476), and are remarkable for the variety 

 and brilliancy of their colours. They are generally termed pa- 

 Dillons (butterflies), but zoologists divide them into vanessae 

 (Fig. 475), butterflies, properly so called (Fig. 442), danaides 

 (Fig. 476), &c. The twilight and the nocturnal have the wings 



