LEPIDOPTERA. 173 
resembling the tail of a tippet; and the other a leg furnished 
with hooks. 
The abdomen has the form of an elongated, or in the majority 
of species, an almost cylindrical oval. It is composed of five 
segments, each formed of an upper and a lower ring, joined 
together by a membrane. The first are larger than the others, 
and generally overlap the edges, which gives to this part of the 
body the power of dilating considerably. 
We must dwell longer on the head. It is generally rounded, 
compressed in front, longer than it is broad, and furnished with fine 
or scaly hairs. Theimportant organs of which this part is the seat 
are the eyes, the antenne, the palpi, and the proboscis or trunk. 
The eyes are more or less spherical, surrounded by hairs, and 
composed of innumerable facettes. One often sees on these, 
colours as various as those of the rainbow. But the colour which 
serves as a base to all, is black in some, grey in others; then 
again there are different gold or bronze-colours of the greatest 
splendour, inclining sometimes to red, sometimes to yellow, some- 
times to green. On the compound eye of a butterfly have been 
counted as many as 17,325 facettes. Simple eyes, or stemmata, 
are moreover observed in certain species, and are generally more 
or less hidden by scales. 
The antenne are situated near the upper rim or border of each 
eye. Reaumur has: pointed out six principal shapes. One termi- 
nates in a little nob, and belongs to the butterflies. The others are 
variously shaped, and belong tothe moths. Some are prismatic, 
or like beading. And lastly, others are shaped like feathers. We 
represent, in Fig. 137, the different forms of the antenn, which 
Réaumur collected together in plates 8 and 9 of his 5th Memoir.* 
The palpi are four in number, two maxillary and two labial. 
The first are generally excessively small; one can only ascertain 
their existence by the aid of a strong magnifying glass: the 
second are in general very apparent, straight, cylindrical, covered 
with scales, and formed of three joints, of which the last is often 
very small and sometimes very pointed. They also sometimes 
bristle with stiff or silky hairs. 
The trunk is placed exactly between the two eyes. As long as 
* “Sur les parties extérieurs des papillons,” tome i., p. 197. 
