90 GROWTH OF INSECTS. 



INFANCY OF INSECTS. 



THERE is no single English word which will apply 

 $o every insect just after it is hatched, and while it 

 temains in what may be called its state of infancy ; 

 J)ut there are several English words which apply to 

 this state in different sorts of insects, as I shall now 

 explain. 



Insects in the infant state ; , caterpillar of a saw fly ; 6, grub 

 of a ladybird ; c, maggot of a cheese fly magnified. 



The word " CATERPILLAR " (*) is applied to the 

 creatures which are, with a few exceptions, shaped 

 like an earth-worm, and of various colours, but most 

 commonly green, sometimes smooth, sometimes stud- 

 ded with short or with long hair, and sometimes with 

 a sort of thorns, and having exactly six legs always 

 placed on the corselet and furnished with claws, 

 while they have from two to sixteen clinging feet ( 2 ) 

 without claws, always situated on the rings of the ab- 

 domen. All caterpillars are hatched either from the 

 eggs of butterflies, moths, or saw flies, with four 

 wings, and, when full grown, they become butterflies, 

 moths, or saw flies, like their parents. 



Among the caterpillars best known and most de- 

 structive are gooseberry and willow caterpillars, which 



(1) In Latin, Eruca. 

 (2) In Latin, Prehensores, objectionably Propedes. 



