green leaves they have been feeding, and creep away to some old wall, or clamber up between wooden pales, and there they spin from their mouths a silken thread, and by this thread they suspend their bodies. Other caterpillars spin one great roof, or canopy of coarse silk, under which numbers nestle down; whilst others make, each one for himself, his own separate bag of silk; others gum together the sides of a leaf with a few silken threads, and then suspend themselves from the stem. There is a small caterpillar found abundantly in September, in marshy ground, which afterwards turns to a small orange-brown moth, called the Frittillary moth; this caterpillar is hatched from the egg about July. It feeds, in fine weather, upon the leaves of marshy plants; but if only a cloud passes over the sun, it stops in a moment, and will not again nibble its leaf till the sunny beams return in bright warmth. These caterpillars are very sociable, and numbers of them live together for eight months under one common web of coarse silk, which they all helped to spin from a gummy fluid at their mouths. During the winter, the caterpillars of the frittillary moth lie dull and stupid, neither feeding nor moving; but on the opening of spring they begin to stir, and to eat away at the bursting leaves. By the end of April they come to their full size; then they leave their common home, and each little caterpillar draws down for itself the tops of two or three blades of grass; these bent down pieces of grass it ties together with a few silken cords, and under this tiny roof it suspends its body by the tail for a fortnight; the tops of the blades of grass hiding each caterpillar from the sight of birds, and defending it also from wind and rain. At the end of this fortnight, the little caterpillar is changed into an orange-brown moth, which spreads out its wings, and sails away in the air.* * Should any one wish to observe the habits of this caterpillar, he should look out for it in September, on marshy land, and then cut the flag upon which they live, and carry it home. LESSON 32.-INSECTS-THEIR CHANGES. Part 2. CHRYSALIS STATE. Chrysalis Silkworm's of a Cocoon, or suspended by silk from wood. VERY soon after the different kinds of larvæ or caterpillars have finished eating, and have settled themselves in their new habitations, the horny hoops or rings round their bodies draw close together, and the long caterpillar becomes a short, thick lump, called by naturalists pupa, or chrysalis. The skin of some of these chrysalides turns to a tough leathery substance; others become hard and horny; other chrysalides cover themselves over with earth, Butterfly, Chrysalis. which they have moistened with glue out of their own bodies; others, like the silk-worm, spin balls of silken threads around their compressed bodies; and ceasing to eat, they lie quietly as if they were dead. In this quiet state some chrysalides remain a few days, some for weeks, others for months, and a few continue in this state for two or three years, patiently waiting for the hour when their great Creator shall command their little tombs to open. During the time that insects sleep in the chysalide states, God changes their worm bodies into new and exquisitely beautiful forms; making some fitted to sail through the air, and others to run fast on the ground. No sooner is this change completed, than the families of the brilliantly polished beetles bite through their chrysalis cases, and come forth, prepared to saw wood, to burrow in the ground, and sometimes to soar aloft. Innumerable swarms of flies, gnats, moths, and butterflies, bursting their silken bands, or tough skins, rise high on the wing, and in airy circles merrily dance away their short lives. Sometimes they sweep down, and touch the earth with light foot, intent upon seeking a nest for their eggs, or upon drawing from bright flowers the sweet juice each one loves best. But whatever form the perfect insect takes, or whatever be the place appointed for it to live in, each one bears upon its body traces of the horny rings of its worm state. In some parts of the perfect insect, these rings are consolidated; that is, they are pressed together so as to form but one piece; whilst on others they remain separated, and therefore can be more distinctly seen. I believe, however, there is no exception to the rule, that the body of every perfect insect is divided into three great parts: called the head, the thorax,* and the abdomen. The Head. PERFECT STATE OF INSECTS. The Thorax in the Insect, which is pressed into one piece. The Abdomen. Insect, divided into three parts. The head is formed very differently in different insects, but in all it is richly supplied with ornament, as well as with tools for work. Some of their jaws are made like awls, chisels, saws, knives, scissors, trowels, spades, and pickaxes. Their feet also have hooks and brushes upon them. Insects * The thorax, or middle part of an insect, is sometimes called the trunk. supplied with such good tools for cutting, nipping, sawing, boring, grinding, digging, shovelling, brushing, and smoothing, may well be considered accomplished and well-furnished workmen. And their works prove them to be such; for either in their larva state, whilst preparing for their chrysalis state, or during their perfect state, they turn out to be "silk manufacturers, paper makers, confectioners, architects, musicians, geometricians, carpenters, masons, boat-builders, upholsterers, miners, soldiers, and tailors." Naturalists have divided all insects into companies or orders; mostly taking the number or form of their wings for the rule of their divisions. It would take us too long to speak of these companies or orders; and at present we can only notice some of the interesting particulars that belong to insects in general. A few more of these will be spoken of in the next lesson. LESSON 33.-INSECTS-PERFECT INSECTS. Tinted-coloured Part 1. Rapidity-speed (Lat. rapidus, swift). Exquisite-very excellent. Crystalline-clear like crystal. Pigmies-a race of tiny men. * Microscope-an instrument for magnify- HAVING traced in the last two lessons the three stages of an insect's growth, we have next to examine the light and beautiful forms of their winged life. And, in this state, the slightest examination of their delicate limbs and often brilliantly tinted bodies, is calculated to delight both the eye and the mind. Our taste is charmed by the gracefulness of their movements; our curiosity excited by their skilful works; and our surprise aroused by the strength of their movements, and the rapidity of their flight. We find that the wings and the feet of insects are * The egg, the larva, and the chrysalis states. joined to their bodies by strong muscles; so powerful are these muscles, that had a horse as much muscular strength, in proportion to its size, as the cockchafer possesses, when it flies booming past us of a summer's evening, it would be able to carry a load six times heavier than any horse now living can bear. And if an elephant were made as strong for its size, as the stag beetle is, it would be able to tear up the largest trees by the roots. The locust is able to leap two hundred times its own length; and so powerful are the Water Scorpion; an insect common in Fresh Water. The Breathing Parts; that is, the Air Sacs, muscles on the hind legs of a flea, that it is able to leap a greater number of times the length of its own body than almost any other animal. Air tubes.-Insects are rendered very light, in consequence of the large quantity of air which they can draw into their bodies. All insects have several holes in their sides, which are called spiracles; the air rushes through these holes into two straight tubes, one of which is laid on each side of the body.* Out of these long tubes, the air is again driven forward into a vast * These two long tubes are called the Trachea tubes. |