THE BUTTERFLY TRIBE. £21 



are interesting. Many of them feed enclosed 

 within the stems of herbaceous plants ; others in the 

 branches or trunks of trees ; a few within fruits and 

 the buds of flowers ; some on the roots of plants ; 

 others again float on the surface of the water, be- 

 tween the leaves of aquatic vegetables, woven 

 around them with inimitable art; and a very great 

 number escape our notice, by taking their nourish- 

 ment only in the night. And though many feed on 

 the leaves of plants and trees in the day-time, yet 

 some, as if conscious of the similarity of their colour 

 to that of the undersides of the leaves, and of the 

 safety they derive from attaching themselves thereto, 

 are seldom to be seen but in that situation. Many of 

 the moths, whose colours bear resemblance to those 

 of the trunks or branches of trees, frequently fix 

 themselves there, and remain motionless for several 

 hours together. In these situations, a person unac- 

 customed to them would not hesitate to pronounce 

 them, from a little distance, the mere rugosities of 

 the bark. 



These various modes of eluding our sight, added 

 to the uncertainty of breeding many species when 

 procured, have prevented our being acquainted with 

 the larvae of the far greater part of the lepidopterous 

 insects. 



THE BUTTERFLY TRIBE. 



THESE elegant insects feed on the nectar of 

 flowers, and the moisture exuding from the plants 

 vol. in. Y 



