Beautiful Butterflies. 21 



the fine silken thread which serves several important 

 purposes in the changes which the insect undergoes ; 

 the spinnaret is the name which has been given to this 

 organ; on each side of it is a similar shaped, but 

 smaller, protuberance, marked e e; these are gene- 

 rally thought to be the palpi, or feelers. 



The rapidity with which a Caterpillar eats proves 

 that its cutting machinery is in good order, and well 

 arranged for facility of working; if you watch the 

 creature feeding, you will observe that the leaf on 

 which it intends to operate is taken edgeways, and 

 held steady between two of the fore feet. Before com- 

 mencing, the body is stretched out as far as possible ; 

 the rapidly-moving jaws take off piece after piece, 

 which is instantly swallowed, and at every bite the 

 head is drawn in, until it comes close home to the legs, 

 which hold the leaf, when another extension takes 

 place, and another series of bites is commenced, till, 

 by and by, the substance bitten is hollowed out like a 

 half-moon. The notch in the upper lip, being even 

 with the place where the jaws unite, appears to answer 

 the purpose of a groove, to keep the margin of the leaf 

 steady, and guide it in the proper direction. 



The eyes and the antenna, or horns, have now to be 

 noticed; the first appear to the naked eye like two 

 little dark spots; the microscope shows that each of 

 them consists of six distinct eyes, or lenses, arranged 



