THE NYMPHAtlD^. 



91 



chrysalis, which thus seems cut out of a soHd piece of 

 metal. Unlike that of the true butterflies, the pupa is 

 always suspended with its head downwards, and is en- 

 tirely destitute of a transverse thread : some few, repre- 

 senting the silk moths (Bombycidte), live and undergo 

 their metamorphosis within a leaf; these exceptions, 

 however, are very rare. The perfect insect presents us 

 with many peculiar characters. Its whole structure is 

 more robust and vigorous, resembling, in this respect, 

 the Coliance ; the anterior feet are short, almost always 

 imperfect, and generally covered by long hairs ; whence 

 their popular name of Brush-feet. No general defi- 

 nition will serve to characterise the shape of the wings, 

 as these, no less than the palpi and antennae, vary in 

 each of the lesser famiUes ; but, in general, the under 



pair are so dilated, as to form a groove for the recep- 

 tion of the body. As illustrations of the more typical 



