LEPIDOPTERA. 
67 
species crawl up the stems of water-plants, and under¬ 
go their change in the air; others swim to the sur¬ 
face of the water, and use their old pupal covering as a 
raft from which to rise into the air, after the manner of 
some gnats. Like the Epliemeridce , the Phryganidoe 
have only rudimentary mouths, and as they never eat 
they are doubtless very short-lived. The females of some 
of the species have been seen to descend a foot deep or 
more into the water to deposit their eggs, just as we have 
seen is sometimes the case with some of the dragon-flies. 
The colours of all the British Phryganidae are obscure, 
being brown, grey, or black. 
LEPIDOPTERA 
The Phryganidcc , a family of insects noticed in the 
last chapter, may be considered to form a sort of 
connecting link between the Orders Neuroptera and 
Lepidoptera , so similar are some of the species to moths. 
We come now, therefore, to the Lepidoptera , containing 
the Butterflies and Moths—insects which, from the 
delicacy of form of many species, and the brilliancy of 
the colours often displayed on the wings, have always 
been, perhaps, the most attractive of all insects. 
The structure of the mouth of a Lepidopterous 
insect will distinguish it from one belonging to any other 
of the Orders. The long tongue, spirally rolled when at 
rest, is an organ admirably suited for inserting in the 
deep petals of flowers and extracting therefrom the sweet 
r 2 
