ABODE OF THE LARV.i:. 29 
ascertained whether they actually eat the 
rotten wood, or prey upon the lesser 
animals, which have made their nests 
in the same place of concealment : how- 
ever this may he, the larvas of some of 
our handsomest moths, and those of se- 
veral kinds of flies, live in rotten wood. 
Lucy, Then, mamma, larva does not 
mean the caterpillars of moths alone. 
Mother, The name of larva is given 
to all insects during the first stage of 
their life, whatever may he their future 
shape : that of caterpillar has been applied 
chiefly to the larvx of the moth and 
butterfly tribes. Some caterpillars feed 
on the juicy roots and stalks of dande- 
lion, and of other plants of that kind ; 
but these usually eat at night, or late 
in the evening, and are therefore very 
difllicult to find, as they conceal them- 
selves during the day in shady places, or 
retire into the ground. 
Lucy, Into the ground ! How can 
such hairy creatures force themselves 
into the earth ? 
