52 THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM. 



find a plentiful provision of their destined food ; 

 and by the position in which they place the eggs, 

 they render the exit of the larva as convenient as 

 possible for the objects which it will immediately 

 have in view. 



The eggs of the Lady-bird and Syrphus tribes, 

 for instance, are invariably laid among a colony of 

 plump Aphides, which are destined to become their 

 future food, and of which they will very quickly 

 clear a rose-tree so infested. The wise gardener 

 knows this fact perfectly well, though perhaps no 

 entomologist, and never destroys the larvae of the 

 Lady-bird or Syrphus, whom he recognizes as his 

 best friend. 



The Dragon-fly, with the assistance of her 

 elegant tail, deposits her eggs on the stem of some 

 water plant at some distance below the surface, in 

 order that the larvae may come into active existence 

 in the element which is to form the region of the 

 first phase of their changeful career. Sometimes, 

 indeed, the parent Dragon-fly, in her anxiety to make 

 quite sure that her eggs are placed at a sufficient 

 depth to be secure against the chance of any slight 

 sinking of the water, dives bodily beneath the 

 surface, regardless of the gossamer delicacy of her 

 beautiful wings, which, during the performance of 



