74 OUTLINES OF ENTOMOLOGY. 



gaily colored wings, their soft, hairy bodies, small heads, prominent 

 eyes and antennae, and in most species, the long, coiled tongue. 



In the Lepidoptera the three principal divisions of the body are 

 distinct, but the neck is very short and there is no slender pedicel con- 

 necting the thorax and abdomen. The head is small, but broad in pro- 

 portion to its length, and moves freely on the neck ; the eyes are hemi- 

 spherical and of various colors, sometimes sparsely hairy. 



Two ocelli are present in some of the moths, but are concealed 

 under the hairy scales that clothe the top and front of the head, and 

 probably are not of much use as organs of vision. 



The antennae are always conspicuous. They are either filiform, 

 feathered or club-shaped. The upper jaws are not developed in the 

 perfect insects, and the lower jaws (maxillae) are united and length- 

 ened out to form a horny tube called the tongue or lingua, which is 

 coiled up like a watch spring when not in use. The palpi at least one 

 pair of them are large and plumy and curve up in front of the face on 

 each side of the tongue. 



The usual form of the body is long and slender, tapering somewhat 

 in both directions. The pro-thorax is a very narrow ring, scarcely vis- 

 ible on top except for the two little knobs which it bears, from which 

 arise small tufts of hairs. The mezo-thorax is the most developed seg- 

 ment of the body, bearing the fore-wings and the middle legs, and the 

 two little lappets (patagia) that cover the bases of the wings. The 

 meta-thorax is also quite large, and has attached to it the hind legs and 

 hind wings. The legs are weak and slender, and are used chiefly as 

 supports for the body when the insect is at rest, and only rarely for 

 walking or crawling. They are clothed with hair-like scales, and have 

 one or two pairs of spurs at or near the outer end of the shank (tibia). 

 The feet have five slender cylindrical joints, and terminate in a pair of 

 minute claws. 



The wings, in this order of insects, are the most striking features 

 of the organism, and of first importance in every respect. They are 

 formed of membrane supported by numerous strong veins (see Fig. 5), 

 and covered with a powdery substance which, when magnified, is found 

 to consist of minute scales narrowly or broadly oblong, attached by a 

 little stem; they are notched on the outer edge and overlap each other 

 in irregular rows, like the shingles on a roof. It is in the brilliant colors 

 and elegant patterns formed by the arrangement of these scales, that 

 the beauty of the butterflies and moths chiefly resides. 



The patagia are covered with long hairs, and fit over the bases of 

 the upper wings like epaulettes. In their perfect state lepidopterous 

 insects are rather short-lived, if we except the comparatively few species 



