INSECTS, 



163 



When the Caterpillar has attained its full size, it crawls 

 to the under-part of a branch, and spins a little knob 

 of silk, of which 

 it takes hold with 

 its hindmost false 

 legs : it then spins 

 a girdle, composed 

 of many contiguous 

 threads of silk, fast- 

 ened at each end ; 

 making a bow large 

 enough to admit 

 the body, and in- 

 tended to support 

 the Chrysalis; this, 

 when finished, the 

 Caterpillar puts over 

 its head. It conti- 

 nues in this state 

 about two days and 

 a half, during which 



time it has gradll- Transformations of Butterfly. 



ally lost its power of holding on by the feet, and rests with 

 its whole weight upon the knob and cincture of silk. It 

 now casts off its Caterpillar skin, and enters the Chrysalis 

 state. By good fortune we were happy enough to see this 

 change take place in one of our captives. The Caterpillar 

 appearing very uneasy and restless, we watched it at inter- 

 vals for about half an hour ; when, by strong and appa- 

 rently painful inflations, a slit was made in the back of the 

 third ring or segment, and the Chrysalis forced itself 



