506 THE BUTTERFLIES. 



subsist entirely upon liquid food, which is drawn into the system by suction, and not 

 by means of a brush, as is the case with the liquid-feeding beetles and bees. The 

 wings are strengthened by nervures, which are of great use in determining the position 

 of the insects. 



The scales with which the membranous wings are at once protected and adorned are of 

 various shapes, sometimes broad, flat, and overlapping each other like the tiles of a house- 

 roof, sometimes long and hair-like, sometimes drawn out like a set of park palings with 

 notched tops ; while others assume the most fantastic forms, and perhaps resemble negro 

 hands with spread fingers, as in the well-known death's-head moth, or battledores, as in 

 the little blue butterfly of the meadows. Their surfaces are always sculptured in some 

 way, and the markings on these minute objects, most of which are singly invisible to 

 the naked eye, are so bold and determinate, that, in most cases, an entomologist can 

 name the genus, and in some the species, from which a scale has been taken. 



The series of changes undergone by the Lepidoptera are, perhaps, better known than 

 those of any other order, on account of the large dimensions and conspicuous habits of 

 the insects. The larva is popularly known under the title of caterpillar, and is always a 

 vegetable feeder, sometimes devouring the bark, now and then the solid wood, but mostly 

 the leaves of the plants on or in which it resides. During its life in the caterpillar state, 

 it eats almost incessantly, laying up in the interior a store of fat on which it may sustain 

 existence during its pupal stage, and increases in size with wonderful rapidity. The 

 larva, for example, of the death's-head moth is larger and longer than the middle finger 

 of an ordinary man, and yet when first hatched from the egg is no longer than the cap- 

 ital letters at the head of this page. The skin cannot keep pace with the growth, and 

 accordingly splits as soon as its expanding properties are exhausted, permitting 

 the caterpillar to crawl from its old envelope, when it resumes eating with great 

 vigor. 



After the skin has been cast several times, the creature exchanges the caterpillar dress 

 for that of the pupa, or chrysalis, and remains in that state for a variable time without 

 taking food, and almost without motion. The form of the chrysalis is mostly spindle- 

 shaped, but in many cases, especially the butterflies, it is angular, and altogether oddly 

 formed. The locality chosen by the creature during this strange period of its life is even 

 more variable than its form. Some chrysalids remain within the trunks of trees, some 

 burrow deeply into the earth, some hang themselves up by their tails, some sling them- 

 selves horizontally in hammocks, while many spin cocoons, or build strong wooden 

 edifices in which they may await their last change. At the proper time, the pupa skin 

 also splits, and permits the perfect insect to emerge from its prison, and take to the wide 

 world. If the creature retains memory, the change of habit must be indeed wonderful. 

 From being a slow, crawling, grub-like creature, gnawing coarse vegetable substances 

 with ceaseless voracity, it becomes a denizen of air, fluttering gaily over space, and 

 daintily sipping its little modicum of sweet juices from the odorous flowers. 



Having given this general glance at the order, we will now proceed to our examples. 



IN the system which is adopted in this work, the Lepidoptera are divided into two sec- 

 tions, the Butterflies and Moths, technically called Rhopalocera and Heterocera, which 

 may generally be distinguished from each other by the form of the antennae, those of the 

 Butterflies having knobs at their tips, while those of the Moths are pointed. The first 

 family is that of the Papilionidae, in which are included the largest and most magnificent 

 specimens of this order. The fanciful names with which so many of these insects have 

 been honored are chiefly due to Linnaeus, who was so struck with the splendid dimen- 

 sions and gorgeous coloring of these insects that he deemed them worthy of Homeric 

 titles, called them Equites, or knights, and, separating them into two divisions, gave to all 

 those which have red spots on the sides of the breast the names of the Trojan heroes, and 

 to those which were without the red spots, and had an eye-shaped mark on the lower 

 wings, the names of the Greek warriors who fought against Troy. Unfortunately, for 

 this division, it happens that the two sexes of many species are very diverse, and cause 

 great confusion, so that Polycaon, one of the Greeks, and Laodocus, a Trojan hero, have 

 been found to be the two sexes of the same insect, the latter being the female. 



