CHAPTER XIV 



PUZZLES AND PARADOXES 



The study of animals in infancy is full of surprises and 

 contradictions, and insoluble riddles. Why, for example, 

 should the caterpillar have to pass through a practically 

 inanimate stage sealed up in an unyielding horny case, 

 before it can attain to the fuU glory of its winged state ? 

 The answer which first presents itself seems ade<]^uate 

 enough — to wit, that the caterpillar stage being of necessity 

 somewhat lengthy, a period of suspended animation is 

 necessary to tide over the winter months, and the chrysalis 

 case forms an exceptionally effective protection for the 

 development of the delicate mechanism such as the wings 

 and honey-sucking proboscis. And this hne of argument 

 gains support by a comparison with the history of the 

 dragon-fly. 



The larval dragon-fly, as everybody knows, is a water- 

 dweUer, and spends at least a year, and some even three 

 years, in this state ; but when at last the end of its larval 

 life arrives it just climbs a reed-stem, waits a bit, and in a 

 little while, lo ! its skin bursts and out steps the gauzy- 

 winged creature we all so admire. Here the environment 

 of the larva is less affected by seasonal changes, and hence, 

 it would seem, there is no need for a break. But this 

 cannot be the whole truth, for the larval water-beetle has 



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