46 The Humming Bird. 



class, that it is only the extraordinary means of concealment 

 which many of them possess, combined with their remarkable 

 fecundity, that stands between them and total extinction. As 

 it is, however, they are enabled to hold their own with such 

 success as to greatly out-number the remainer of the animal 

 world. No doubt birds are the greatest destroyers of insects, 

 especially when the latter are in the larval state, as almost all 

 birds, even the seed-eating species, feed their young on 

 insects. As a means of protection against these destroyers, 

 a large number of insects lay their eggs either in the ground 

 or in the future food-plant of the young larvae. Among the 

 former are the cockchafers and grasshoppers. The cock- 

 chafer is fearfully destructive when in the larval stage, as the 

 grub lives under the ground, where it is comparatively safe 

 from the attacks of birds, feeding on the roots of plants and 

 doing enormous damage to growing crops. It is for this 

 reason that rooks, starlings, and other birds follow the plough, 

 in order to find these and other grubs which may have been 

 turned up with the soil. Consequently, these useful birds 

 should never be destroyed, but, on the contrary, should be 

 encouraged as much as possible. The weevil, a small beetle 

 belonging to the family of Ciirculionidœ, is another insect 

 which, unfortunately for the farmer, is well concealed from 

 its foes when in the larval state. The eggs are laid in grains 

 of corn, and the larvae hatch and feed in security, causing 

 immense destruction on account of their numbers. Another 

 beetle which lays its eggs so that the young grubs find them- 

 selves in the midst of their food on hatching, is the Burying 

 Beetle, which, however, is not injurious to farmers. On 

 finding the dead body of a mouse, small bird, or something of 

 the kind, these insects bury it in the earth, and then lay their 

 eggs in it. Among the larvae of Lepidoptera may be found 

 some of the most interesting examples of the subject of this 

 paper. The larvae of a large number of species belonging to 

 the family of Vanessidœ feed on nettles, thistles, and other 

 plants which are more or less spiny or hairy ; in order to 

 conceal them as much as possible, these larvae are covered 

 with branched spines, which look very formidable, but which, 

 however, are quite soft and harmless. The pupae of the same 

 insects hang by their tails from the stems, etc. of their food- 

 plants, and from a little distance look exactly like dead leaves 

 which have shrivelled up. 



The larvae of a remarkable North American butterfly, 

 (Limenitis disippiis) , are curious from the fact that in 



