: The World's Greatest Books — Volume 14 — Philosophy and Economics by Hammerton J A John Alexander Editor Mee Arthur Editor - Philosophy; Economics

@FreeBooks

Posted in: #FreeBooks #FreeBooksIndia #FreeBooksApp #gg

Vote Up Vote Down   0 Reactions

Login to give Reaction!

INTRODUCTORY EDITORIAL NOTE v

INDEX 88

PLATE

FACING PAGE

BRITISH BUTTERFLIES

THE LIFE-HISTORY OF A BUTTERFLY

What is the difference between a butterfly and a moth, and how am I to distinguish between them? is a question very often put to the student of insect life--the entomologist.

The stages of development of butterflies and moths are practically the same: first the egg; next the caterpillar, or larva; then the pupa, or chrysalis; and, lastly, the imago, or perfect insect.

The eggs of the Lepidoptera are surpassingly beautiful. Are they like birds' eggs? Not at all! In the first place they are too minute for comparison with the larger product of the birds; both in colour and form they more nearly resemble small shells or pearls, as a great many of them are beautifully opalescent, especially when empty. A good hand-lens will reveal a great deal of their beauty, but the low power of an ordinary compound microscope will be necessary to enable you to see all the nice detail of pattern sculptured on their surfaces. Each species of butterfly, or moth, produces eggs of particular shape and ornamentation, so it is quite possible, in most cases, to say to which species an egg belongs. How long the egg may remain unhatched depends a good deal upon which butterfly's egg it is, the season of the year, and the temperature. Not many butterflies pass the winter in this country in the egg state, that season being usually passed either as a half-fed hibernating caterpillar, or as a chrysalis; and in a few cases it is only the female which passes the winter in some secure retreat, to emerge again in the spring, and then deposit her eggs on the fresh-growing verdure. But, generally speaking, eggs laid during the summer hatch out in from ten to sixteen days. And it is well to be on the lookout for the young larvae even earlier, if you intend to rear some species in confinement. If you have secured eggs to rear from, watch them from day to day to see if they darken, as they often assume a dark leaden hue immediately before hatching. This is a useful warning, and serves as a hint to have plenty of fresh food ready for the young family about to arrive.

The caterpillars are ravenous eaters; you will not notice this fact particularly at first, because they are then such tiny creatures, but in proportion to their size their eating capacity is enormous. They grow at an exceedingly rapid rate and to such an extent that they literally burst their skins! In a very short time--three or four days--the old skin bursts and out comes Mr. Caterpillar with a brand-new one. And this is the manner of their growth; several times this skin-shedding process is repeated. And then the creature prepares for the last and final change before turning into a butterfly.

You may at some time find a dozen or two larvae of some particular species of butterfly or moth, and at the time of collecting them they may seem healthy and all right, but weeks afterwards you may discover that only a very small number will change to chrysalids, the ichneumons having had the rest. If you can catch and induce a female butterfly to give you a batch of eggs in captivity, then you may be sure, providing your treatment of them has been right, that all your brood will arrive at the perfect state.

The next stage we have to consider we will pass over briefly. The change from the larva to the chrysalis is always a very fascinating performance to watch, not that one could sit and see the whole performance right through from start to finish, the time occupied is too long for that. Generally the process lasts a day or two, but by watching at frequent intervals, where several individuals are engaged at the same operation and each at its own stage of the work, it is not difficult to follow the whole process of the transformation. Try it with the larva of the Large Garden White butterfly, perhaps the commonest, and therefore the easiest to procure; you will gather plenty of "stung" or "ichneumoned" examples, but still a sufficient number should be clean to serve your purpose.

Free books android app tbrJar TBR JAR Read Free books online gutenberg

(0)

Login to post a comment!