468 INSECTA. 



salides of the diurnal Lepidoptera, ornamented with golden spots, 

 whence the term chrysalis, are naked and fixed by the posterior 

 entremity of the body. The nymphs of the Lepidoptera present a 

 special character, of which we have spoken in our general observa- 

 tions on the class of Insects. They are swathed or resemble mum- 

 mies. Those of several Insects of this order, particularly of the 

 Diurnae, undergo their metamorphosis in a few days; they even fre- 

 quently produce two generations in the course of the year. The 

 caterpillars or chrysalides of others, however, remain during the 

 winter in one of these states, and only appear as perfect Insects in 

 the spring or summer of the following year. Generally speaking, 

 the eggs laid in the fall are not hatched till the ensuing spring. The 

 Lepidoptera issue from their envelope in the usual manner, or 

 through a slit which is effected on the back of the thorax. 



The larvaB of the Ichneumonides and Chalcidites deliver us from 

 a great portion of these destructive animals. 



We will divide this order into three families, which correspond to 

 the three genera of which it is composed in the system of Linneeus. 



FAMILY I. 



DIURNA. 



This family is the only one in which the exterior margin of the 

 inferior wings does not present a rigid, squamous seta or kind of 

 bridle for retaining the two superior ones. These latter, and even 

 most frequently the former, are raised perpendicularly when the In- 

 sect is at rest. The antennae are sometimes terminated by a globu-' 

 liform inflation or little club, and are sometimes almost of equal thick- 

 ness throughout or even more slender, and form a hooked point at 

 the extremity. This family comprises the genus 



Papilio, Lin. 



The larvae always have sixteen feet. The chrysalides are almost sJways 

 naked, are attached by the tail, and most commonly angular. The perfect 

 Insect, always provided with a proboscis or trunk, flies during the day only, 

 and the colours which ornament the under part of the wings do not yield 

 in beauty to those which decorate their superior surface. 



These Insects ai-e now divided into two sections. Those of the first have 



