THE PERFECT INSECT.

Who does not admire the extraordinary splendour, the vivacity, the

prodigious variety of colours of these brilliant inhabitants of the

air? Some amateurs have devoted to the purchase of certain butterflies

large sums of money. "Diamonds," says Réaumur on the subject, "have

perhaps beauties no more real than those of a butterfly's wings; but

they have a beauty which is more acknowledged by the world in general,

and which is more recognised in commerce." The essential character of

butterflies and moths makes them very easily recognisable among all

other insects. All have four wings, which are covered with scales,

that communicate to them the brilliant colours with which they are

decorated. It is these scales which adhere to the fingers when we

seize one of these charming creatures.

[Illustration: Fig. 133.--Different forms of the scales of Butterflies,

after Réaumur.]

For a long time this dust was thought to be formed of very small

feathers, but Réaumur showed that it is composed of little scales.

Their form varies singularly, as we may see in Fig. 133, borrowed from

the Memoirs of Réaumur,[45] which represents the different forms of

the scales which cover the wings of Lepidoptera. M. Bernard Deschamps

has closely studied them. According to this naturalist, they are

composed of three membranes, or plates, superposed one on the other,

of which the first is covered with granulations of a rounded form,

which give to these scales their splendid and varied colours; the

second plate is covered with silk, forming sometimes curious designs;

the third plate, viz., that which is applied to the membrane of the

wing, has the peculiar property of reflecting colours the most

brilliant and the most varied, although the surface of the scales

visible to the eye is often dull and colourless.

[45] Tome i., planche 7, Figs. 1 à 23.

"Supposing," says M. Bernard Deschamps, "that a painter was

possessed of colours rich enough to represent on canvas with all

their splendour, gold, silver, the opal, the ruby, the sapphire, the

emerald, and the other precious stones which the East produces, that

with these colours he formed all the shades which could result from

their combination, one might affirm without the chance of contradiction,

that he would have none of these colours and of their various shades,

whatever might be the number, which could not be discovered by the

microscope on part of the scales of the Lepidoptera, which Nature has

been pleased to conceal from our gaze."

[Illustration: Fig. 134.--Portion of the wing of a Moth (_Saturnia

pavonia major_), magnified.]

Each of these scales adheres to the membrane of the wing by a small

tube, which is solidly fixed to it. Réaumur has called our attention

to the admirable arrangement of these scales, which are disposed like

those of fish, that is to say, in such a manner that those of a row

shall partially overlap those in the following one.

In Fig. 134, representing a portion of the wing of the _Saturnia

pavonia major_, magnified, which we borrow from Réaumur's Memoir, the

scales are arranged in rows; isolated scales, and the points where

other scales were fixed before they were taken off, are represented.

The membranous frame which supports the coloured scales of butterflies

and moths is well worth a moment's consideration. It consists of two

membranes intimately united by their interior surfaces, and divided

into many distinct parts by horny, fistulous threads, more or less

ramified, which seem intended to support the two membranes mentioned

above, and which branch out from the base to the edge of the wing.

Their number, counting from the exterior edge, is not always the same

in the upper and lower wings. It varies from eight to twelve.

With its large and light wings, the butterfly can fly for a long time.

But this flight is not in the least regular; it is not made in a

straight line. When the insect has to go some distance, it flies

alternately up and down. The line it takes is composed of an infinity

of zig-zags, going up and down, and from right to left. This

irregularity of flight saves the little insect from falling a prey to

birds. "I saw one day with pleasure," says Réaumur, "a sparrow which

pursued in the air a butterfly for nearly ten minutes without being

able to catch it. The flight of the bird was nevertheless considerably

more rapid than that of the butterfly, but the butterfly was always

higher or lower than the place to which the bird flew, and where it

thought it would catch it."

But let us leave the wings to pass on to the other parts of the

butterfly. These other parts are the _thorax_ or chest, the body or

_abdomen_, and the _head_.

The thorax is solidly put together, so as to bear the movements of the

wings and legs. These latter are composed, as in other insects, of

five parts: the coxa, the trochanter, the thigh, the shank, and the

tarsus.

Many butterflies have all their six legs of equal length. In others,

the two fore legs are very small, and are not suited for walking. In

others, again, they are rudimentary, being deprived of hooks, very

hairy, and applied on to the front of the breast.

[Illustration: Fig. 135.--Leg of Butterfly armed with hooks.]

[Illustration: Fig. 136.--Leg not suitable for walking.]

This difference of structure may be seen in Figs. 135 and 136, one of

which represents, after Réaumur, a leg unsuited for walking, very

hairy, and terminated in a sort of brush resembling the tail on a

tippet; and the other a leg furnished with hooks.

The abdomen has the form of an elongated, or--in the majority of

species--an almost cylindrical oval. It is composed of five segments,

each formed of an upper and a lower ring, joined together by a

membrane. The first are larger than the others, and generally overlap

the edges, which gives to this part of the body the power of dilating

considerably.

We must dwell longer on the head. It is generally rounded, compressed

in front, longer than it is broad, and furnished with fine or scaly

hairs. The important organs of which this part is the seat are the

eyes, the antennæ, the palpi, and the proboscis or trunk.

The eyes are more or less spherical, surrounded by hairs, and composed

of innumerable facettes. Colours are seen on these as various as those

of the rainbow. But the colour which serves as a base to all, is black

in some, grey in others; then again there are different gold or bronze

colours of the greatest splendour, inclining sometimes to red,

sometimes to yellow, sometimes to green. On the compound eye of a

butterfly as many as 17,325 facettes have been counted. Simple eyes,

or stemmata, are moreover observed in certain species, and are

generally more or less hidden by scales.

The antennæ are situated near the upper rim or border of each eye.

Réaumur has pointed out six principal shapes. One terminates in a

little _knob_, and belongs to the butterflies. The others are

variously shaped, and belong to the moths. Some are prismatic, or like

beading. And lastly, others are shaped like feathers. We represent, in

Fig. 137, the different forms of the antennæ, which Réaumur collected

together in plates 8 and 9 of his fifth Memoir.[46]

[46] "Sur les parties extérieures des papillons," tome i., p. 197.

The palpi are four in number, two maxillary and two labial. The first

are generally excessively small; one can only ascertain their

existence by the aid of a strong magnifying glass: the second are in

general very apparent, straight, cylindrical, covered with scales, and

formed of three joints, of which the last is often very small and

sometimes very pointed. They also sometimes bristle with stiff or

silky hairs.

The trunk is placed exactly between the two eyes. As long as the

butterfly does not want to take nourishment, the trunk remains rolled

in a spiral. Some are so short, that they scarcely make one turn and a

half or two turns; some larger sized make three turns and a half or

four turns; lastly, some very long are curled as many as eight or ten

times.

This is how the butterfly makes use of its trunk: When fluttering

around a flower, it will very soon settle on or quite close to it.

The trunk is then brought forward entirely or almost entirely

unrolled; very soon afterwards it is almost straightened, then

directed downwards, and plunged into the flower. Sometimes the insect

draws it out a moment after, curves it, twists it a little, and

sometimes even curls it partially up. Immediately it straightens it

again, to plunge it a second time into the same flower. It repeats the

same manoeuvre seven or eight times, and then flies on to another

flower.

[Illustration: Fig. 137.--Antennæ of Lepidoptera.]

This trunk, of which the butterfly makes such good use, is composed

of two filaments more or less long, horny, concave in their interior

surfaces, and fastened together by their edges. When cut transversely,

one sees, according to Réaumur,[47] that the interior is composed of

three small rings. Consequently, there are three canals in the trunk:

one central, the other two lateral (Fig. 138). Are all these three

used to conduct the juice of flowers into the butterfly's body?

Réaumur has made some very interesting observations on this subject,

by observing a moth which was sucking a lump of sugar whilst its

portrait was being taken.

[47] Planche 9, Fig. 10, 5e Mémoire, "Sur les parties

extérieures des papillons."

[Illustration: Fig. 138.--Section of a Butterfly's Trunk, after Réaumur.]

"I held in one hand," says Réaumur, "a powerful magnifying glass,

which I brought near to that part of the trunk I wished to examine; I

was sometimes half a minute, or nearly a minute, without perceiving

anything, after which I saw clearly a little column of liquid mounting

quickly along the whole length of the trunk. Often this column

appeared to be intersected by little balls, which seemed to be

globules of air which had been drawn up with the liquid.

"This liquid ascended thus during three or four seconds, and then

ceased. At the end of an interval of a greater number of seconds, or

sometimes after an interval as short, I saw some fresh liquid mounting

up along the trunk. But it was straight up the middle of the trunk

that it seemed to ascend.

"The Author of Nature has given to insects means of working, which,

though very simple, we cannot divine, and which often we are not able

even to perceive. Whilst I was observing the trunk of our butterfly,

between the columns of liquid which I saw ascending, there were, but

more rarely, times when I saw, on the contrary, liquid descending from

the base of the trunk to the point. The descending liquid occupied

half or two-thirds of the tube. It was no longer difficult to perceive

how the butterfly is able to nourish itself on honey, the thickest

syrup, and even the most solid sugar. The fluid it sends down is

probably very liquid; it drives against the sugar, moistens, and

dissolves it. The butterfly pumps this liquid up again when it is

charged with sugar, and conducts it along as far as the base of its

trunk, and beyond it."

The life of the perfect insect is generally very short. Like nearly

all other insects, they die as soon as they have propagated their

species. The female lays her eggs, which vary in shape, on the plant

which is to nourish her progeny. The colour is also very various, and

passes through all sorts of shades. At the moment they are laid, many

are covered with a gummy substance, insoluble in water, which serves

to stick them on the plant.

In some species the mother lays her eggs on the trunks of trees, and

covers them with down or with the hairs which clothe her abdomen, so

as to preserve them from cold and damp. She may also hide them

entirely under a whitish foamy substance. Some do not lay more than a

hundred eggs; others lay some thousands.

To bring the history of the Lepidoptera to an end, it only remains for

us to give a sketch of their classification, and to point out some

species remarkable, either on account of their beauty or their

utility.

We see during the day butterflies flying in our gardens, in meadows

full of flowers, or in the alleys of woods. Towards evening, at the

sombre hour of twilight, the stroller is sometimes surprised to see

pass near him large moths, with a heavy and unequal flight; or, if we

go into a garden on a beautiful calm summer's night, bearing a light,

we see a crowd of moths flying from all parts towards it.

It is on account of these different hours at which the Lepidoptera

show themselves, that naturalists for a long time divided them into

diurnal, crepuscular, and nocturnal. This division was simple,

convenient, and seemed founded on Nature. Unfortunately, the _night_

fliers of the old authors do not all fly by night: some species,

classed by the old naturalists among the crepuscular, or nocturnal,

show themselves in the very middle of the day, seeking their food in

the hottest rays of the sun. In the regions near the poles they appear

during the day, and in other countries they are more or less friends

of the twilight.

So as not to multiply methodical divisions, we will confine ourselves

to classing the Lepidoptera into two sections.

The first section contains those _which fly during the day, which have

club-shaped antennæ, and which have their four wings entirely free,

and standing perpendicularly[48] when the insect is at rest_. They are

called Butterflies, or Rhopalocera. This section is divided into a

number of families, which comprise many genera. We will content

ourselves with calling the attention of the reader to some of the most

remarkable of these groups, and to those species which, either on

account of their beauty or abundance, strike, or ought to strike, the

attention of every one.

[48] There are exceptions to this.--ED.

In the family of the _Papilionidi_, we will mention the genera

_Papilio_, to which belong the Swallow-tailed Butterfly (_Papilio

machaon_), _Papilio podalirius_, &c., and _Parnassius_, of which we

will notice _Parnassius Apollo_, and _Parnassius Mnemosyne_.

[Illustration: Fig. 139.--Swallow-tailed Butterfly (_Papilio machaon_).]

[Illustration: Fig. 140.--Larva and Chrysalis of Papilio machaon.]

The swallow-tailed butterfly is found plentifully in the fens of

Cambridgeshire, and Norfolk and Suffolk, and very commonly in the

environs of Paris. It is seen from the beginning of May till towards

the middle of June; then from the end of July till September. It

frequents gardens, woods, and, above all, fields of lucerne. It is

easily taken when settled, particularly at sunset.

This is one of the largest and the most beautiful of the European

butterflies. The wings are variegated with yellow and black; the eyes,

antennæ, and trunk are black. The body is yellow on the sides and

underneath, and black above. The front wings have rounded edges; the

hind ones, on the contrary, are notched, and one of these notches is

prolonged into a sort of tail. The first are black, spotted and

striped with yellow; the second have their upper part and middle

yellow, with some touches only of black. Near the margin is a broad

black band, dusted with blue; lastly, six yellow spots in the form of

a crescent run along the border, and end in a magnificent eye of a

reddish colour, bordered with blue.

[Illustration: Fig. 141.--Papilio Alexanor.]

The caterpillar of this species is large, smooth, and of a beautiful

light green, with a transverse black band on each ring. These bands

are sprinkled with orange spots. It lives on the fennel, carrot, and

other Umbelliferæ. If teased, it thrusts from the first ring after

the head a fleshy, orange-coloured tentacle. The chrysalis, attached

to a stalk of grass, is sometimes light green, sometimes greyish.

In the low Alps, on the plains near the environs of Digne and

Barcelonette, is found in the months of May and July the _Papilio

Alexanor_ (Fig. 141), and in Corsica and Sardinia is found

the _Papilio hospiton_, a rare species, nearly related to our

swallow-tailed butterfly, but which we will here content ourselves

with mentioning.

[Illustration: Fig. 142.--The scarce Swallow-tailed Butterfly

(_Papilio podalirius_).]

The _Papilio podalirius_ (Fig. 142) is in form very analogous to

_Papilio machaon_. It is of a rather pale yellow colour, marked with

black, as if singed. The lower wings have tails longer and narrower

than those of the latter, and are magnificently ornamented with blue

crescent-shaped spots and an orange-coloured eye bordered below with

blue. This beautiful species is not rare at Montmorency, at Ile-Adam,

and at St. Germain. It is said to have been taken in England, and is

called the scarce Swallow-tail, but its capture is considered as very

questionable. It appears for the first time at the end of April, and

for the second in July and August. The _Parnassius Apollo_ (Fig. 143),

is a beautiful butterfly, which appears in June and July, and is found

commonly enough in the Alps, the Pyrenees, and the Cévennes. Its wings

are of a yellowish white. The upper part of the fore wings presents

five nearly round black spots; the base and the costa, or front edge,

of these wings are sprinkled with black atoms. The upper part of the

hind wings presents two eyes of a vermilion red, the inner border

furnished with whitish hairs amply dotted with black, and marked

towards the extremity with two black spots. The under part of the fore

wings is very similar to the upper. But the under part of the hind

wings presents four red spots bordered by black, forming a transverse

band near the base. The body is black, furnished with russety hairs,

and the antennæ white, with the club black.

[Illustration: Fig. 143.--Parnassius Apollo.]

The larva of the Apollo lives on saxifrages. To affect its

transformation it surrounds itself with a slight network of silk in

which are confined one or more leaves. This caterpillar is thick,

smooth, cylindrical, and covered with small slightly hairy warts, and

ornamented on the first ring with a fleshy tentacle in the shape of a Y.

The chrysalis is conical, sprinkled over with a bluish efflorescence

resembling the bloom on a plum. The _Parnassius Mnemosyne_ is found in

the month of June in the mountains of Dauphiné, in Switzerland, Sicily,

Hungary, Sweden, and in the Pyrenees.

In the family of the _Pieridi_ we will mention many species remarkable

in different ways, such as _Pieris cratægi_, the black-veined White,

_Pieris brassicæ_, the Cabbage Butterfly, _Pieris napi_, _Pieris

callidice_, _Anthocharis cardamines_, the Orange-tip, _Rhodocera_

(_Gonepteryx_) _rhamni_, and _Colias edusa_, or Clouded-yellow.

_Pieris cratægi_ is white both above and below; the veins only of the

wings are black, and become a little broader at the edge of the upper

wings. These black veins on a rather transparent white ground make

this butterfly resemble a gauze veil, hence its French name, _le

gaze_. It flies in spring and summer in meadows and gardens, but is

not generally common in England. In the first volume of his "Travels

in the North of Russia," Pallas relates that he saw insects of this

species flying in great numbers in the environs of Winofka, and that

he at first took them for flakes of snow. The _Pieris cratægi_ fixes

itself at sunset on flowers, where it is easily taken by the hand.

During the day, on the contrary, it is difficult to catch. The larva,

black at first, afterwards assumes short yellow and white hairs, but

it varies much. They live in companies, under a silky web, in which

they pass the winter. The leaves of the hawthorn, the sloe, the cherry

tree, and of many other fruit trees, serve them for food. The pupa,

yellow or white, and sometimes of both colours with little stripes and

spots of black, is angular and terminated in front by a blunt point.

[Illustration: Fig. 144.--Pieris brassicæ.]

The _Pieris brassicæ_ (Fig. 144), or Cabbage Butterfly, is perhaps the

commonest of all butterflies. From the beginning of spring till the

end of autumn one sees it flying about everywhere, in the gardens,

sometimes near and almost in the interior of towns. It is of a dull

white, spotted and veined with black, and it can be seen at a long

distance, when flitting from flower to flower, in a meadow or garden.

And so children wage desperate war against this flying prey. The

pursuit of the cabbage butterfly through the alleys of parks, along

the outskirts of woods, or on the green turf of meadows, is the first

joy and the first passion of children in the country.

The caterpillar (Fig. 145) is of a yellowish green, or rather greenish

yellow, with three yellow longitudinal stripes separated by little

black points, from each of which springs a whitish hair. It lives in

groups on the cabbages in gardens, and on many other Cruciferæ. It is

so voracious that it consumes in a day more than double its own

weight, and, as it multiplies very quickly, commits great ravages in

the vegetable garden. Its pupa (Fig. 145) is of an ashy white, spotted

with black and yellow.

[Illustration: Fig. 145.--Caterpillar and Chrysalis of Pieris brassicæ.]

The _Pieris rapæ_, or Small White Butterfly, differs but little from

the preceding except in size. The caterpillar, which lives on the

cabbage, turnip, mignonette, nasturtium, &c., is green, with three

yellow lines. It does not do these much harm. In France it is called

_le ver du coeur_ (the heartworm), because it penetrates in between

leaves pressed closely together.

The _Pieris napi_ (Fig. 146), the Green-veined White, is very like the

two preceding, but the wings, the lower one especially, have

underneath broad veins, or bands, of a greenish colour. The _Pieris

callidice_, the wings of which are white spotted with black, is common

in the Alps of France, in Savoy and Switzerland, and in the Pyrenees.

Its caterpillar lives near the regions of perpetual snow, on small

cruciferous plants.

[Illustration: Fig. 146.--Pieris napi.]

[Illustration: Fig. 147.--Anthocharis cardamines.]

The Orange-tips have, in the males, the extremity of the upper wings

of a beautiful orange yellow. The rest of the wings is white in the

only British species (Fig. 147), which is to be seen in meadows from

the end of April till the end of May, and sulphur-coloured in some

other species.

One species, extremely common, and which appears with but short

interruption from the beginning of spring till the end of autumn, is

the Brimstone Butterfly (_Rhodocera_ [_Gonepteryx_] _rhamni_). The

wings are a lemon yellow, with an orange-coloured spot in the middle

of each, and the front border terminated in a series of very small

iron-coloured spots. The body of the butterfly is black with silvery

hairs.

[Illustration: Fig. 148.--Thecla betulæ.]

The _Colias edusa_, or Clouded-yellow, so called from the colour of

the upper part of its wings, is not uncommon in meadows and fields in

early autumn throughout Europe. The upper side of the wings is of a

marigold yellow; the upper ones having towards the middle a large spot

of black. At the extremity of each wing is a broad black band,

continuous in the case of the male, interrupted by yellow spots in the

female. The back of the body is yellow; the legs, as well as the

antennæ, rosy.

The family of the _Lycænidæ_ comprises a great number of species, some

of which we will mention.

The _Theclæ_, or Hair-streaks, which the French call _Petits

Porte-queues_, on account of the tails which grace the hind margin of

the hind wings, inhabit woods, their larvæ feeding, according to the

species, on the birch, the oak, the plum-tree, the bramble, &c.

The _Thecla betulæ_ (Fig. 148), or Brown Hair-streak, is somewhat rare

in this country.

The Purple Hair-streak (_Thecla quercus_, Fig. 149), which Geoffroy

calls the "_Porte-queue bleu à une bande blanche_," is not rare in

woods; but it is very difficult to catch, as it flies nearly always by

couples at the tops of trees. We still further represent here the

Black Hair-streak (_Thecla pruni_, Fig. 150), and the Green

Hair-streak (_Thecla rubi_, Fig. 151).

[Illustration: Fig. 149.--Thecla quercus.]

[Illustration: Fig. 150.--Thecla pruni.]

In the meadows are found the Copper Butterflies; butterflies with

wings of a bright, tawny colour, with black marks on the upper side.

Such is the _Polyommatus_ (_Lycæna_) _phlæas_ (Fig. 152), which is

very common from the end of May until late in the autumn. The upper

part of the wing is coppery, spotted with black, the under side of a

grey colour, sprinkled with small eyes, and bordered by a zone of

tawny spots. Linnæus counted forty-two little black eyes on the under

side of the wings.

[Illustration: Fig. 151.--Thecla rubi.]

[Illustration: Fig. 152.--Small Copper (_Polyommatus_ [_Lycæna_]

_phlæas_).]

We also figure _Polyommatus_ (_Lycæna_) _virgaureæ_ (Fig. 153), and

_Polyommatus_ (_Lycæna_) _gordius_ (Fig. 154), neither of which occurs

in this country.

In the meadows, the gardens, and the lucerne and clover fields, are

found the charming Blue Butterflies, the wings on the upper side, in

the majority of instances, blue in the case of the males, brown in the

females.

They comprise the genus _Lycæna_, or, as it is frequently called,

_Polyommatus_,[49] though that name is now generally given to the

preceding. We will content ourselves here by giving drawings of a few

species of the genus, namely, the _Lycæna (Polyommatus) Corydon_, or

Blue Argus (Fig. 155), which is not uncommon wherever there is chalk,

in May and August; the _Lycæna (Polyommatus) battus_, or Brown Argus

(Fig. 156), which does not occur here; the _Lycæna (Polyommatus)

ægan_, which flies about our sandy heaths.

[49] It may not be out of place to remark that although both

these generic names are applied, sometimes to the one,

sometimes to the other of these genera, the genus named in the

text _Polyommatus_ and that called _Lycæna_ are never

considered identical. When either name is applied to the one,

it is not at the same time applied to the other.--ED.

[Illustration: Fig. 153.--Polyommatus (Lycæna) virgaureæ.]

[Illustration: Fig. 154.--Polyommatus (Lycæna) gordius.]

[Illustration: Fig. 155.--Lycæna (Polyommatus) Corydon.]

The caterpillars of this genus, as also those of the preceding, are

broad and flat, resembling wood-lice, with very short legs, and are

very slow in their movements.

[Illustration: Fig. 156.--Lycæna (Polyommatus) battus.]

[Illustration: Fig. 157.--Lycæna (Polyommatus) ægon.]

In the numerous family of the _Vanessidæ_ are placed the beautiful

species known as the large and small Tortoise-shell, the Peacock, &c.

The large Tortoise-shell Butterfly (_Vanessa polychloros_, Fig. 158)

has the wings of a tawny colour above, and of a blackish brown below,

with darker spots, bordered by a black band, with a stripe of

yellowish colour running down the middle. It is found in July and

September on the oak, the elm, the willow, and many fruit trees.

[Illustration: Fig. 158.--Large Tortoise-shell Butterfly (_Vanessa

polychloros_).]

[Illustration: Fig. 159.--Larva and chrysalis of the large

Tortoise-shell (_Vanessa polychloros_).]

The larva (Fig. 159) is bluish or brownish, with an orange-coloured

lateral line, bristling with yellowish hairs. The chrysalis, which is

angular, and of a red tint, is ornamented with golden metallic spots.

[Illustration: Fig. 160.--Small Tortoise-shell Butterfly (_Vanessa

urticæ_).]

[Illustration: Fig. 161.--Peacock Butterfly (_Vanessa Io_).]

We give here a drawing of the small Tortoise-shell (_Vanessa urticæ_,

Fig. 160), which resembles the preceding, but is smaller. Its

caterpillar, bristly, blackish, with four yellowish lines, lives in

companies on the nettle. The Peacock Butterfly (_Vanessa Io_, Fig.

161) is very easily recognised by the peacock's eyes--to the number of

four, one on each wing--which have gained for it the name it bears.

The eye on the upper wings is reddish in the middle and surrounded by

a yellowish circle. That on the lower ones is blackish, with a grey

circle round it, and contains bluish spots. The upper part of the

wings is of a russety brown, the under part blackish. This _Vanessa_

is met with in the woods, in lucerne fields, and in gardens. Its spiny

caterpillar is of a shiny black with white dots, and lives in

companies on nettles. The chrysalis, at first greenish, then brownish,

is ornamented with golden spots.

[Illustration: Fig. 162.--Camberwell Beauty (_Vanessa Antiopa_).]

The _Vanessa Antiopa_ (Fig. 162), one of the greatest of entomological

rarities in England, is not very common in the woods about Paris, but

it is frequently found in the environs of Bordeaux, and, above all, at

the Grande Chartreuse (in the department of Isère). The Parisian

collectors go as far as Fontainebleau in pursuit of this beautiful

species, with angular wings, of a dark purple black, with a yellowish

or whitish band on the hind border and a succession of blue spots

above it. The caterpillar is black, and bristly, with red spots. It

lives in companies on the birch, the aspen, the elm, and different

kinds of willows. The pupa is blackish, sprinkled with a bluish

powder, and has ferruginous-coloured dots. The butterfly, which

emerges from the chrysalis in July and August, is found, after

hybernation, at the end of February and until May. It flies very

rapidly, and is very difficult to catch.

[Illustration: Fig. 163.--Red Admiral Butterfly (_Vanessa Atalanta_).]

[Illustration: Fig. 164.--Painted Lady Butterfly (_Vanessa_ [_Cynthia_]

_cardui_).]

The Red Admiral Butterfly (_Vanessa Atalanta_, Fig. 163) has bands of

vermilion colour on the upper side of its wings, which are black

above, and variegated beneath with different colours. The caterpillar

is bristly and blackish, with a succession of spots of lemon-colour

on its sides. It lives in solitude on the stinging-nettle (_Urtica

dioica_). Its chrysalis is blackish, with golden spots. This

magnificent insect is common at the end of summer, and easy to catch.

If missed once it comes back again almost immediately, and almost

alights on the net of the collector.

The Painted Lady (_Vanessa_ [_Cynthia_] _cardui_, Fig. 164) owes its

vernacular name to the beauty of its colours. The upper wings are

covered above with tawny spots, rather cerise coloured towards the

interior, and with white spots on the hind margin towards the tip of

the wing; the whole on a lightish ground. The lower wings are of a

reddish tawny colour with many black spots, a circular row of which

borders the wing. The caterpillar is bristly, brownish, with yellow

lateral broken lines. It lives in solitude on many species of thistle,

on the artichoke, the milfoil or yarrow, &c. It makes for itself a

web, rather like a spider's nest, and lives therein. The chrysalis is

greyish, with numerous golden dots. The perfect insect shows itself

almost without interruption, from spring till autumn. It flies

rapidly, and in certain seasons is abundant.

The _Vanessa (Grapta) C. album_ (Fig. 165), or Comma Butterfly, is

common in parts of England. Above, its wings are tawny, spotted with

black. Below, they are more or less brown, with different tints, and

sometimes a little blue. On the under side of the lower wings is a

white spot of the form of a C. "This spot," says old Geoffroy, "caused

this butterfly to have the name of _gamma_ given to it, and its colour

of _Diable enrhumé_ (_sic_), as also the singular cut of its wings,

has caused it to be called by others _Robert le Diable_." Its

caterpillar lives on the nettle, the honeysuckle, the currant, the

hazel, and the elm. It is of a reddish brown, with a white band on the

back. Réaumur calls it the Beadle, comparing it to the church beadles,

who usually dress in glaring colours.

[Illustration: Fig. 165.--The Comma Butterfly (_Vanessa C. album_).]

The brilliant _Vanessæ_, of which we have just briefly described some

remarkable species, have been the cause of superstitious terror. This

must at first sight seem incredible, but it has arisen thus: When they

have just quitted the pupa, a red-coloured liquid drops from them. If

a great many butterflies are hatched at the same time, and in the

same place, the ground becomes, as it were, sprinkled with drops of

blood. Hence the origin of some of those pretended _showers of blood_,

which, at different periods, have terrified the ignorant, too much

imbued with religious superstitions.

At the beginning of the month of July, 1608, one of these supposed

showers of blood fell on the outskirts of Aix, in Provence, and this

_rain_ extended for the distance of half a league from the town. Some

priests of the town deceived themselves, or, desirous of turning to

account the credulity of the people, did not hesitate to attribute

this event to Satanic agency. Fortunately, a learned man, M. de

Peiresc, who was not only well versed in the knowledge of ancient

literature, but who was, moreover, familiar with the natural sciences,

discovered that a prodigious multitude of butterflies were flying

about in the places which were thus miraculously covered with blood.

He collected some chrysalides and put them into a box, and letting

them hatch there, observed the blood-like liquid, and hastened to make

it known to the friends of the miraculous. He established the fact

that the supposed drops of blood were only found in cavities, in

interstices, under the copings of walls, &c., and never on the surface

of stones turned upwards; and proved by these observations that they

were drops of a red liquid deposited by the butterflies.

However, in spite of the reassuring remarks of the learned Peiresc,

the people in the outskirts of Aix continued to feel a genuine terror

at the sight of these tears of blood which stained the soil. Peiresc

attributes to this same cause some other showers of blood related by

historians, and which took place about the same season. Such was a

shower which was supposed to have fallen in the time of Childebert, at

Paris, and in a house in the territory of Senlis. Such again was a

so-called bloody shower which showed itself towards the end of June,

during the reign of King Robert of France. Réaumur points out the

large Tortoise-shell as being the most capable of spreading these

sorts of alarms, founded on a deplorable ignorance and the spirit of

superstition.

"Thousands," says he, "change into pupæ towards the end of May or the

beginning of June. Before their transformation they leave the trees,

often fastening themselves to walls, and, making their way into

country-houses, they suspend themselves to the frames of doors, &c. If

the butterflies which come out of them towards the end of June or the

beginning of July were all to fly together, there would be enough of

them to form little clouds or swarms, and consequently there would be

enough to cover the stones in certain localities with spots of a

blood-red colour, and to make those who only seek to terrify

themselves, and to see prodigies in everything, believe that during

the night it had rained blood."

[Illustration: Fig. 166.--White Admiral (_Limenitis sibilla_).]

[Illustration: Fig. 167.--Limenitis camilla.]

In the family of _Nymphalidæ_, we will first mention the White Admiral

(Fig. 166). The upper side of its wings is of a dark brown, almost

black, traversed in the middle by a white band divided into spots very

close to each other. The lower part of the wings is ferruginous, with

a band and spots of white, as on the upper, besides which it has a

double hinder transverse row of black dots. These dots are followed on

the hind wings by some white spots, and the whole of the inner margin

is of a glossy ashy blue, with the base spotted with black. This

butterfly is not rare in the month of July in woods in the south of

England, where it flies round and settles upon the branches of the

underwood. The caterpillar is of a delicate green, with a lateral

white stripe, and rather bristly. It feeds on honeysuckle. The pupa is

angular, of greenish colour, with golden spots.

The _Limenitis camilla_ (Fig. 167), of which the black on the wings is

shot with blue, is not found in England.

In the month of July the _Apatura ilia_ (Fig. 168) and the Purple

Emperor (_Apatura iris_), sylvan insects of strong flight, whose wings

are beautifully shot with violet blue when examined in certain

lights--the latter resembling _Ilia_, but wanting the eye-like spots

on the front wings--are met with. _Iris_ only is found in this

country. Both species occur in the environs of Paris.

[Illustration: Fig. 168.--Apatura ilia.]

The _Charaxes jasius_ (Fig. 169), which is found along the whole of

the Mediterranean coast, has its lower wings terminated in two points,

whence the peasants call this butterfly the _Pacha with two tails_.

The upper part of its wings is of a brown colour of changing hues. The

hind margin of the fore wings has along it a tawny band with a fine

black line running round. The hind wings have their hinder margin

black, and garnished with a little white fringe. The two tails are

black, and the groove of the inner margin is of an ashy grey. The

underneath of the wings is ferruginous, with spots of an olive brown

set in a framework of white towards the base.

The caterpillar is green, and flat like a slug, with four yellow horns

bordered with red (Fig. 170). It lives on the arbutus, a shrub common

enough on the hills and mountains of the coast of the Mediterranean.

[Illustration: Fig. 169.--Charaxes jasius.]

[Illustration: Fig. 170.--Larva of Charaxes jasius about to change to

a pupa.]

[Illustration: Fig. 171.--Erebia Euryale.]

To the family of the _Satyridi_ belongs the _Erebia Euryale_ (Fig.

171), which is found in the month of July in sub-alpine regions; the

_Chionobas aello_ (Fig. 172), which is found in the Alps of

Switzerland, of the Tyrol, and of Savoy, and which is common enough,

in the month of July, on the summit of Montanvers, near the _mer de

glace_; the _Satyrus janira_, or Meadow Brown (Fig. 173), which is

very common, in the months of June and July, in woods and fields.

[Illustration: Fig. 172.--Chionobas aello.]

We now pass on to the second section of Lepidoptera.

[Illustration: Fig. 173.--Meadow brown (_Satyrus_ [_Hipparchia_]

_janira_).]

It contains _those whose flight in the majority of species is nocturnal

or by twilight, but by day in some species. The antennæ are more or

less swollen out in the middle or before their extremities, and,

independently of that, sometimes prismatic, sometimes cylindrical,

sometimes pectinated or indented. The body--which was small in

comparison to the wings, and which was remarkably thin between the

thorax and the abdomen in the first section of Lepidoptera--is in this

section very much larger in proportion to the wings, and is not drawn

tightly in between the thorax and the abdomen. The wings are horizontal

or slightly inclined when the insect is at rest; the upper then cover

the lower, which are generally comparatively short and kept back by a

bridle on the first, in the case of the males only._

[Illustration: Fig. 174.--Sesia apiformis.]

[Illustration: Fig. 175.--Six-spot Burnet Moth (_Zygæna filipendulæ_).]

We will take the genus _Sesia_ as the representative of the _Sesiidæ_.

These singular insects have membranous wings, and resemble various

species of Hymenoptera. The largest species is the _Sesia apiformis_

(Fig. 174), that is, bee-like, which is found in this country, resting

on the trunks of willows and poplar-trees, from the end of May till the

middle of July. It resembles a hornet, and is of the same size and has

the same colours; only they are not quite so bright. When this moth is

just hatched its wings are ferruginous; but its scales, light and

caducous, fall as soon as the insect begins to fly. The caterpillar,

which lives in the trunks or roots of willows and poplar-trees, is of a

yellowish colour. The pupa is long, of a brownish colour, enclosed in a

cocoon composed of agglutinated saw-dust, the product of the

caterpillar's erosions.

[Illustration: Fig. 176.--Cocoon of the Zygæna filipendulæ.]

In the middle of summer the meadows are frequented by moths, with

brilliant black and velvety wings, marked with red, which fly heavily,

and only for a short time together. They remain motionless during the

great heat of the day. These are the _Zygænæ_, or Burnets, of the

family of the _Zygænidæ_. The Ram Sphinx of Geoffroy, or the Six-spot

Burnet Moth (_Zygæna filipendulæ_, Fig. 175), is common from the end

of June till the beginning of August. Its legs, antennæ, head, and

body are black and rather hairy; its upper wings are of a brilliant

bluish green, with six spots of a beautiful red on each, bordered by a

little green. The caterpillar is yellow, spotted with black; its

cocoon is boat-shaped, with longitudinal furrows, and is straw colour

(Fig. 176).

Next to _Zygæna_ comes _Procris_, the species of which fly during the

day in damp fields. We will mention particularly the _Procris

statices_ (Fig. 177), which is plentiful enough where it occurs

between the middle of June and the middle of July, on the sides of

hills. Its fore wings, antennæ, and the whole of its body, are of a

blue green above. The same wings are of the same colour below, and the

surfaces of the lower ones are of an ashy brown.

[Illustration: Fig. 177.--The Forester (_Procris_ [_Ino_] _statices_).]

The Sphinges, that is, those species that form the family of the

_Sphingidæ_, have received this general name from the attitude which

their caterpillars often assume. Raising the fore part of the body,

which attitude resembles the Sphinx of mythology, they keep for a very

long time this state of immobility. They fly very rapidly and briskly,

and only make their appearance for the most part after sunset. The

caterpillars, which in this group are without hair, and have almost

always a horn on the eleventh segment of the body, metamorphose

themselves in the earth, without forming hard cocoons. The chrysalis

are sometimes enveloped in a very slight shell, or cocoon, which when

it exists is formed of particles of earth or of vegetable _débris_

bound together by threads. This family comprises species generally

remarkable for their size and beauty.

The genus _Macroglossa_ contains some species which fly rapidly and

for a long time together during the day. We will mention particularly

the Humming-bird Sphinx (_Macroglossa stellatarum_). This moth (Fig.

178) has attracted the attention of all who have ever spent much time

in a flower garden. In Burgundy the children call it _bird-fly_. In

passing from one flower to another it has brisk and rapid movements,

but it remains suspended in the air before each; it does not alight

upon any, it is always flying, thrusting its long trunk the while

into the corollæ of flowers, counterbalancing the action of its weight

by the continuous vibration of its wings.

We will describe in a few words this robust inhabitant of the air,

this charming _bird-fly_. The _Macroglossa stellatarum_ shows itself

during the whole of the fine season, and till the middle of autumn, in

our climate. It often penetrates in the middle of the day into our

houses, and knocking itself against the window-panes, falls an easy

prey to children. Its front wings are of an ashy brown, of changing

hues above, with three black, transverse, undulating lines. The lower,

shorter than the others, are of a rusty-yellow colour. All the wings

are yellowish below near the body, ferruginous in the middle, and of a

dark brown at their extremities.

[Illustration: Fig. 178.--Humming-bird Hawk-Moth (_Macroglossa

stellatarum_).]

The body is long, brown, hairy, and terminating in a tuft of

divergent hairs, reminding one of a bird's tail. It is for this reason

that it has been called by the French _Sphinx Moineau_, or Sparrow

Sphinx. This resemblance is so great, that Mr. Bates, in his book on

the Amazons, says he often shot species of this genus in mistake for

humming-birds. The caterpillar of this remarkable Lepidopteron (Fig.

179) is of a pale green, with eight transversal rows of small white

dots and four longitudinal rows, of which two are white and two

yellowish. It has a dark blue horn, with an orange-coloured tip. It

lives on different species of bed-straw, but by preference on the

_Galium mollugo_. Before its metamorphosis, it encloses itself in a

shapeless cocoon, made of the _débris_ of leaves held together by

threads, and placed on the surface of the ground. The pupa (Fig. 180)

is of a light grey, sprinkled over with brown dots, and striped with

black. Its skin is so thin and transparent that one can follow it

through all the phases of transformation to the imago.

[Illustration: Fig. 179.--Caterpillar of Humming-bird Hawk-Moth

(_Macroglossa stellatarum_).]

[Illustration: Fig. 180.--Pupa of Macroglossa stellatarum.]

The genus _Deilephila_ is composed of species whose flight is rapid,

and after sunset. Such are the _Deilephila euphorbiæ_, the Oleander

Hawk-Moth (_Deilephila_ [_Chærocampa_] _nerii_), and the large Elephant

Hawk-Moth (_Deilephila_ [_Chærocampa_] _elpenor_).

The _Deilephila euphorbiæ_ (Fig. 181) has the upper wings of a reddish

grey, with three spots of greenish or olive colour along the costa, or

front margin, and a broad black oblique band along the hind margin.

The lower wings are red, with the base black, and a transverse black

band towards the edge; they have, moreover, a large round white spot

on the inside; beneath the wings are red, as also is the body, which

is covered above with greenish hairs. This species is exceedingly rare

here, but is plentiful on the Continent during the months of June and

September.

[Illustration: Fig. 181.--Deilephila euphorbiæ.]

[Illustration: Fig. 182.--Larva of Deilephila euphorbiæ.]

The larva (Fig. 182) is one of the most remarkable of the genus on

account of the splendour and the vividness of its colours, and appears

to be covered with varnish. It has a number of small yellow dots very

close to each other on a glossy black ground, which are ranged in

circles. On each side of the body are two longitudinal rows of spots

generally of the same colour as the dots, and a narrow band of carmine

runs down the middle of the back, and a similar band, which is

intersected by yellow, is to be seen above the legs. This caterpillar

is almost always found on the Cyprus-leafed spurge. It is found first

at the end of June. Generally the chrysalis passes through the winter,

and the moth emerges in the following year.

[Illustration: Fig. 183.--Deilephila (Chærocampa) nerii.]

The _Deilephila (Chærocampa) nerii_ (Fig. 183), or Oleander Hawk-Moth,

is a charming species almost peculiar to hot countries, where the

shrub from which it derives its name grows spontaneously--that is to

say, in Africa, in the southern parts of Asia, in Greece, in Spain,

&c. Carried forward by its rapid flight, and assisted by atmospheric

currents, these beautiful insects sometimes come accidentally into the

countries of Central Europe. They have been met with many times in

Paris, in the garden of the Luxembourg, where the oleander is

cultivated under glass. But those which are hatched in the environs

of Paris never reproduce their species, on account of the coldness of

the climate. Both larva and imago--the former on periwinkle--_have_

been found in the same locality.

[Illustration: Fig. 184.--Larva of Deilephila (Chærocampa) nerii.]

[Illustration: Fig. 185.--Pupa of Deilephila (Chærocampa) nerii.]

The caterpillar of this species (Fig. 184) is one of those called by

the French _Cochonnes_, because their two first rings, which are

retractile and drawn back under the third when the insect is at rest,

taper in such a way as to resemble the snout of a pig, hence the

English name "Elephant," when they change their place or are engaged

in eating. It is of a beautiful green, with white stripes and dots on

the sides, and marked on the third segment with two large spots like

eyes, of an azure blue, encircled with black, and having white pupils.

A short orange-coloured horn rises at the extremity of the body. A few

days before its transformation, this caterpillar entirely loses its

rich livery, it becomes brown on the back, and of a dirty yellow on

the rest of its body, and constructs for itself a cocoon at the foot

of the shrub on which it lived, with the _débris_ of leaves fastened

together with threads.

The cocoon contains a chrysalis (Fig. 185) of a hazel brown,

delicately streaked with a darker brown, and with a very conspicuous

black spot on each of its stigmata.

The Elephant Hawk-Moth (_Deilephila_ [_Chærocampa_] _elpenor_, Fig. 186)

is not rare during the month of June. Its fore wings are purple red,

glossy above, with three bands of a light olive green, having at the

base a small black spot. The inner margin is garnished with white

hairs. The hind wings are of a dark rose colour above, with the base

black, and the hind margin bordered with white. The four wings are

rose coloured below, with the costa and the middle of an olive green;

the upper ones have their interior border tinged with a blackish

colour. The body is rose colour, with two longitudinal bands of an

olive green over the abdomen, and five diverging lines of this colour

on the thorax. The sides of the abdomen have along them a double

series of yellowish points.

[Illustration: Fig. 186.--Deilephila (Chærocampa) elpenor.]

The caterpillar of this sphinx (Fig. 187) is of a dark brown,

delicately striped with black. Two grey lines run down each side of

its body, and on the fourth and fifth segments are two black eyes

bordered by light violet. This caterpillar is found most often on

certain kinds of _Epilobium_, but will also eat of the vine, fuchsia,

and bed-straw. It must be sought in damp places, by streams and ponds,

from the end of July till September. It constructs on the surface of

the soil a shapeless cocoon with moss and dry leaves, which it fastens

together with some silky threads. Its pupa (Fig. 188), of a yellowish

brown, has short bristles on the rings of the abdomen. The caterpillar

possesses in the highest degree the retractile power which has gained

for certain species of this genus their popular names. The Privet

Sphinx (_Sphinx ligustri_, Fig. 189) has its upper wings rather

narrow, about two inches long, of a reddish grey, and veined with

black above, with the middle of a dark brown, the inner margin with

rose-coloured hairs, and the hind margin having two whitish flexuous

lines running along it. The hind wings are of a rose tint, with three

black bands. The wings are of a reddish grey below with a common black

band. The abdomen has black and rose-coloured rings above, and in the

middle a brownish band wholly divided by a black line.

[Illustration: Fig. 187.--Larva of Deilephila (Chærocampa) elpenor.]

[Illustration: Fig. 188.--Pupa of Deilephila (Chærocampa) elpenor.]

[Illustration: Fig. 189.--Privet Hawk-Moth (_Sphinx ligustri_).]

This species is very common in all parts of Europe. One finds it in

gardens from June to September. Of all the caterpillars of the genus

_Sphinx_, this is the one which, by its attitude when in a state of

repose, most resembles the sphinx of fable, from which the genus has

derived its name. It is of fine apple green, with seven oblique

stripes, half violet and half white, placed on each side of its body,

and three or four small white spots beyond these stripes. The stigmata

are orange, the head is green, bordered with black. The extremity of

the body is surrounded by a smooth horn, black above, yellow below

(Fig. 190). This beautiful caterpillar is not rare. It lives on a

great number of trees and shrubs, but it is principally on the privet,

the lilac, and the ash tree, that it must be looked for. Three or four

days before it buries itself in the earth to change itself into a

chrysalis, its beautiful colours grow dim. During the month of June

and September is found the Convolvulus Sphinx (_Sphinx convolvuli_,

Fig. 192), with brown wings, and with the abdomen striped with

transverse bands alternately black and red. The caterpillar of this

species, which presents a great number of varieties, lives on many

kinds of _Convolvuli_, but particularly on the field species. It is

generally rare here, but occasionally abundant.

[Illustration: Fig. 190.--Larva of the Privet Hawk-Moth (_Sphinx

ligustri_).]

[Illustration: Fig. 191.--Pupa of Sphinx ligustri.]

It is to the genus _Acherontia_ that a well-known moth belongs. We

refer to the Death's-head Moth (_Acherontia atropos_). It is the

largest species of hawk-moth. This insect presents, roughly marked out

in light yellow, on the black ground of its thorax, a human skull.

This funeral symbol, joined to the plaintive cry which this moth

emits when frightened, has sometimes inspired terror into the whole

population of a country. The appearance of this moth in certain

countries having coincided with the invasion of an epidemic disease,

some thought they saw in this doleful sylph of the night the messenger

of death. The _Acherontia atropos_ plays a great part in the

superstitions which are believed in by the country folk in England.

One hears it said in country places that this ominous inhabitant of

the air is in league with the witches, and that it goes and murmurs

into their ears with its sad and plaintive voice the name of the

person whom death is soon to carry off. In spite of its ominous

livery, the _Atropos_ does not come from Hades; it is no envoy of

death, bringing sadness and mourning. It does not bring us news of

another world; it tells us, on the contrary, that Nature can people

every hour; that it was her will to console them for their sadness, to

grant to the twilight and to the night the same winged wanderers

which are at once the delight and ornament of the hours of light and

of day.

[Illustration: Fig. 192.--The Convolvulus Sphinx (_Sphinx convolvuli_).]

This is the mission of science, to dissipate the thousands of

prejudices and dangerous superstitions which mislead ignorant people.

[Illustration: Fig. 193.--Death's-head Hawk-Moth (_Acherontia atropos_).]

This moth has the front wings of a blackish brown colour, having

lighter irregular bands varied with brown and grey, above and below.

On the middle of the front wing there is a well-defined white dot. The

hind wings have two black bands, the upper narrower than the lower

one; the rest of the wing is a fine yellow. The abdomen has likewise

from five to six yellow and as many black bands; in the middle is a

long blackish longitudinal band. This moth is not very rare, and may

be found in autumn. Its flight is heavy, and, as we have said, the

insect never flies till after sunset. If caught, or when teased, it

utters a cry which is very audible.

The death's-head hawk-moth would be a very inoffensive being if it did

not make its way into bee-hives, in order to steal the honey, of which

it is excessively fond. It is to no purpose that the bees dart their

stings at the intruder, they only blunt them against its thick skin,

and soon, terrified at its presence, disperse on all sides.

[Illustration: Fig. 194.--Larva of the Death's-head Hawk-Moth

(_Acherontia atropos_).]

The caterpillar of the _Acherontia atropos_ (Fig. 194) is the largest

of all European caterpillars. It attains to as much as four and a half

inches in length by eight lines in diameter. Its colour is lemon

yellow, which changes into green on the sides and belly. From the

fourth to the tenth ring inclusively it is ornamented laterally with

seven oblique bands of an azure blue, which are tinted with violet,

and bordered with white on the side. These bands joining together over

the back of each segment resemble so many _chevrons_ placed parallel

to each other. The body is, moreover, dotted with black. At its

extremity is a yellow horn, curved back like a hook, and covered with

tubercles. The head is green, and marked laterally with a black

stripe. It lives chiefly on the potato, and the _Lycium barbarum_,

sometimes called the tea-tree, a shrub belonging to the _Solanaceæ_.

It buries itself in the earth to change into a chrysalis (Fig. 195) of

a bright chestnut brown.

[Illustration: Fig. 195.--Chrysalis of the Death's-head Hawk-Moth.]

[Illustration: Fig. 196.--Lime Hawk-Moth (_Smerinthus tiliæ_).]

[Illustration: Fig. 197.--Larva of the Lime Hawk-Moth (_Smerinthus

tiliæ_).]

[Illustration: Fig. 198.--Eyed Hawk-Moth (_Smerinthus ocellatus_).]

We will mention still further, in the family of the _Sphingidæ_, three

species of the genus _Smerinthus_, which fly heavily and by twilight.

The Lime-tree Hawk-moth (_Smerinthus tiliæ_, Fig. 196) has its upper

wings grey with some shades of green, and moreover, in the middle of

the wing an irregular band of a brownish green colour. The thorax,

covered with hairs, is grey, with three green longitudinal bands. The

abdomen is also grey. The moth flies heavily after sunset, and is

found on the trunks of trees during the months of May and June. The

larva (Fig. 197) is glaucous green dotted with yellow, and marked on

each side with seven oblique lines of the same colours. Its wrinkly

horn is blue above and yellow below. It is found on the lime and the

elm. It buries itself at the foot of the tree on which it has fed to

change into a chrysalis without making a cocoon.

[Illustration: Fig. 199.--Poplar Hawk-Moth (_Smerinthus populi_).]

We will content ourselves by here giving drawings of two other species

of the same genus: the Eyed Hawk-Moth (_Smerinthus ocellatus_, Fig.

198), which is not rare during the months of May and sometimes August,

the caterpillar of which lives on the leaves of willows, poplars, and

fruit-trees; and the Poplar Hawk-Moth (_Smerinthus populi_, Fig. 199),

whose caterpillar (Fig. 200) lives on the poplar, the aspen, and

sometimes on the willow and birch.

The division of _Bombycina_ contains the largest of moths, and at the

same time species of a middle and small size. These moths take no

nourishment, and live only for a short time--long enough to propagate

their species. They rarely fly during the day, only showing themselves

in the evening. The group is dispersed over nearly all parts of the

world, and may be recognised by the antennæ generally being cut like

the teeth of a comb in the males, by their thick, strong bodies, and,

in the majority of cases, by their large head, by their wings more or

less large, and by their heavy flight.

[Illustration: Fig. 200.--Larva of the Poplar Hawk-Moth (_Smerinthus

populi_).]

In the _Bombycina_ are found the genera _Sericaria_, _Attacus_,

_Bombyx_, _Orgyia_, _Liparis_, &c.

It is to the genus _Bombyx_ that the silkworm belongs, that celebrated

insect called by Linnæus _Bombyx mori_, a name which reminds us at the

same time of its most ancient denomination, and of the mulberry tree,

on which these caterpillars feed.

M. Guérin-Méneville has called the silkworm "the dog of insects," for

it has been domesticated from the most ancient times, and has become

deprived of great part of its strength in the process. The moth of the

silkworm can no longer keep its position in the air, or on the leaves

of the mulberry when they are agitated by the wind. It can no longer

protect itself, under the leaves, from the burning heat of the sun and

from its enemies. The female, always motionless, seems to be ignorant

of the fact that she has wings. The male no longer flies; he flutters

round his companion, without quitting the ground. It ought, however,

to be possessed in the wild state of a sufficiently powerful flight.

M. Ch. Martins found that after three generations reared in the open

air, the males recovered their lost power.

Before speaking of the different phases of the life of the silkworm

and the rearing of this precious insect, we will notice the origin and

progress of the silk trade, one of the most important branches of

commerce in the South of Europe and in the East.

The native country of the silkworm is not better known than that of

the greater number of plants and animals which form the staple of

agricultural industry. Probably, however, it was China. It was

certainly in this vast empire that long since the business of

fabricating silk began. One reads the following in "L'Histoire

générale de la Chine," by M. Mailla:--

"The Emperor Hoang-ti, who lived 2,600 years before our era, wished

that Si-ling-chi, his wife, should contribute to the happiness of his

people; he charged her to study the silkworm, and to try to utilise

its threads. Si-ling-chi caused a great quantity of these insects to

be collected, which she fed herself in a place destined exclusively

for the purpose; she not only discovered the means of rearing them,

but still further the manner of winding off their silk and of

employing it in the manufacture of fabrics."

It may be asked, however, if the learned men who composed this recital

did not collect under the reign of the emperor Hoang-ti all the events

and all the discoveries whose dates were lost in the obscurity of the

most remote periods of history. Is not the Empress Si-ling-chi a

mythical person? a sort of Chinese Ceres, to whom, under the title of

goddess of the silkworm, they then raised altars?

Here, at any rate, is how Duhalde[50] analyses the recital of the

Chinese annalists on the remarkable fact of the introduction of the

silkworm and its rich products into the Chinese empire:--

[50] "Description de la Chine," tome ii., p. 205.

"Up to the time of this queen (Si-ling-chi)," says he, "when the

country was only lately cleared and brought into cultivation, the

people employed the skins of animals as clothes. But these skins were

no longer sufficient for the multitude of the inhabitants; necessity

made them industrious; they applied themselves to the manufacture of

cloth wherewith to cover themselves. But it was to this princess that

they owed the useful invention of silk stuffs. Afterwards, the

empress, named by Chinese authors, according to the order of their

dynasties, found an agreeable occupation in superintending the

hatching, rearing, and feeding of silkworms, in making silk, and

working it up when made. There was an enclosure attached to the palace

for the cultivation of mulberry trees.

"The empress, accompanied by queens and the greatest ladies of the

court, went in state into this inclosure, and gathered with her own

hand the leaves of three branches which her ladies in waiting had

lowered till they were within her reach; the finest pieces of silk

which she made herself, or which were made by her orders and under her

own eye, were destined for the ceremony of the grand sacrifice offered

to Chang-si. (PLATE V.)

"It is probable," adds Duhalde, "that policy had more to do than

anything else with all this trouble taken by the empresses. Their

intention was to induce, by their example, the princesses and ladies

of quality, and the whole people, to rear silkworms: in the same way

as the emperors, to ennoble in some sort agriculture, and to encourage

the people to undertake laborious works, never failed, at the

beginning of each spring, to guide the plough in person, and with

great state to plough up a few furrows, and in these sow some seed.

"As far as concerns the empresses, it is a long time since they have

ceased to apply themselves to the manufacture of silk; one sees,

nevertheless, in the precincts of the imperial palace, a large space

covered with houses, the road leading to which is still called the

road which leads to the place destined for the rearing of silkworms,

for the amusement of the empresses and queens. In the books of the

philosopher Mencius, is a wise police rule, made under the first

reigns, which determines the space destined for the cultivation of

mulberry trees, according to the extent of the land possessed by each

private individual."

M. Stanislas Julien[51] tells us of many regulations made by the

Emperor of China, to render obligatory the care and attention

requisite to rearing silk.

[51] "Résumé des principaux Traités Chinois sur la Culture des

Mûriers et l'Education des Vers à Soie, traduit par Stanislas

Julien." Paris, imprimerie royale, 1837.

Tchin-iu, being governor of the district of Kien-Si, ordered that

every man should plant fifty feet of land with mulberry trees.[52] The

Emperor (under the dynasty of Witei) gave to each man twenty acres

of land on condition that he planted fifty feet with mulberry

trees.[53] Hien-tsang (who ascended the throne in 806) ordered that

the inhabitants of the country should plant two feet in every acre

with mulberry trees.[54] The first Emperor of the dynasty of Song (who

began to reign about the year 960) published a decree forbidding his

subjects to cut down the mulberry trees.[55]

[52] "Annales de la Dynastie des Liang."

[53] "Annales de la Dynastie des Wei."

[54] "Annales de la Dynastie des Thang."

[55] "Histoire de la Dynastie des Song."

[Illustration: V. The Empress Si-ling-chi gathering Mulberry Leaves.]

By all these means, according to the testimony of M. Stanislas Julien,

the business of the fabrication of silk became general in China. This

great empire soon furnished its neighbours with this precious textile

material, and created for its own profit a very important branch of

commerce.

It was forbidden, under pain of death, to export from China the

silkworm's eggs, or to furnish the necessary information in the art of

obtaining the textile material. The manufactured article only could be

sold out of the empire. It was thus that the Asiatic nations very soon

understood silk; and that in many of their cities they applied

themselves to weaving stuffs of this precious substance. The carpets

and dyed stuffs of Babylon, mixed with gold and silk, enjoyed in

ancient times an unparalleled renown. China was not, however, the only

country that then furnished silk to the towns of Asia Minor. At a very

distant period India sent by her caravans very considerable quantities

of it. M. Émile Blanchard (of the Institute) remarks, however, that

the tissues of India must be made of a different silk from that of

China, that is to say, of a silk of some of those _Bombyces_ of which

the public has been told so much of late years, and of which we shall

have soon to speak.

Silk commanded for centuries a prodigiously high price. In the time of

Alexander its value in Greece was exactly its own weight in gold, and

so it was very parsimoniously employed in silk tissues. These were so

transparent that women who wore them were scarcely covered.

Silk was unknown to the Romans before Julius Cæsar. It was to him that

Rome owed its acquaintance with this new material. He introduced it,

moreover, in a singularly magnificent manner. One day, at a _fête_

given in the Colosseum--a combat of animals and gladiators--the people

saw the coarse tent of cloth, intended to keep off the rays of the

sun, replaced by a magnificent covering of Oriental silk. They

murmured at this gorgeous prodigality, but declared Cæsar a great

man. The introduction of silk among the Romans was the signal for

luxurious expenditure. The patricians made a great display with their

silk cloaks of incalculable value; so that, from the time of Tiberius,

the Senate felt itself called upon to forbid the use of silk garments

to men. Examples of simplicity are sometimes set in high places; thus,

the Emperor Aurelian refused to the Empress Severina so costly a

dress.

The commerce in silk bore doubly hard upon Europe, both on account of

the value of the material and of the great use which was made of it.

Persia was the emporium, and had the monopoly of this merchandise. The

Emperor Justinian I., who reigned at Constantinople from A.D. 527 to

565, tried all the means within his power of freeing his States from

this ruinous tyranny, when a circumstance occurred, very fortunately

for the national commerce, which brought about the introduction into

Europe of sericulture, or the cultivation of silk.

Two monks of the order of St. Basil, in their ardour for the

propagation of the faith, had pushed forwards into China. There they

had been initiated into the operations which furnished the fabric so

highly prized. On their return to Constantinople, and hearing of the

project that Justinian entertained of depriving the Persians of the

monopoly in silk, the two monks proposed to the Emperor to enrich his

state by introducing the art of fabricating this material. The

proposition was greedily accepted, and the two monks returned again to

China, with the object of procuring the eggs of the insect. Having

arrived at the end of their journey, they succeeded in getting

possession of a quantity of silkworms' eggs. They hid them between the

knots of their sticks, and started back to their native country,

without being once interfered with. Two years afterwards they

re-entered Constantinople with their precious booty.[56] The larva

were fed on mulberry leaves. Immediately afterwards began the rearing

of the worms and the preparation of the silk, according to the

instructions given by these courageous travellers. The first broods

succeeded perfectly, and so plantations of mulberry trees were seen to

multiply and spread through the whole extent of the Eastern Empire. It

was, above all, in Southern Greece that this branch of industry

assumed an immense importance. It was then the Peloponnesus lost its

old name, and was called the Morea, from the Latin name for

"mulberry," _morus_.[57]

[56] According to M. de Gasparin, author of an excellent "Essai

sur l'Histoire de l'Introduction des Vers à Soie en Europe"

(Paris, in 8vo, 1841), it was not into China, but only into

Tartary, to Serinda, that the two monks went in search of the

silkworms' eggs (pp. 37-39). It must be supposed that the eggs

did not hatch for two years, being in such interesting company.

[57] Others derive the name from _more_, the Slavonic word for

the sea. See "On the Study of Words," by Abp. Trench.--ED.

Constantinople and Greece, during centuries, furnished the whole of

Europe with silkworms. This diffusion, however, was effected very

slowly. The Greeks attached great importance to retaining the

monopoly, and the emperor Justinian had caused to be established at

Constantinople itself silk manufactories, where the most skilful

artificers of Asia, who were forbidden to reveal the various processes

to strangers, worked.

Towards the beginning of the eighth century the Arabs introduced the

silkworm into Spain. But this industry remained confined within narrow

limits. It was in fact not till after the twelfth century that

sericulture began to spread throughout Europe. Roger, King of the Two

Sicilies, possessing a navy that commanded the Mediterranean, employed

it chiefly in making excursions and conquests. He ravaged Greece, and,

not satisfied with the booty he carried away from that unfortunate

country, wished still further to deprive them, for the good of his own

kingdom, of the silk monopoly, the source of their riches. Roger

carried away into Sicily and Naples a great number of prisoners,

amongst whom were some weavers and men who had devoted themselves to

the rearing of silkworms. In 1169 he established these workmen in

houses adjoining his own palace at Palermo. There they dyed the silk

of different colours, and mixed it with gold, pearls, and precious

stones.

From Sicily the art of preparing silk spread over the rest of Italy.

In 1204 the workers in silk constituted themselves into a syndicate at

Florence. It is not, however, till 1423--more than two hundred years

after the introduction of this branch of industry into Italy--that we

find the first mention of the cultivation of the mulberry tree in

Tuscany. In 1440 each Tuscan peasant was forced to plant at least five

mulberry trees on the land he cultivated. In 1474 the commerce in silk

fabrics with all parts of the world had become extremely prosperous at

Florence. In 1314 the Venetian manufactures began to assume much

importance. Three thousand workers in silk were then established in

Venice.

Without dwelling longer on the propagation of the silk trade in Italy,

let us pass on to its establishment in France. It was in 1340 that

some French gentlemen, who had stayed some time in Naples, planted in

Avignon the first mulberry trees.[58] According to Olivier de Serres,

it was not introduced till much later into Dauphiné. It was not

introduced into Alan, near Montelimart, till 1495, by the Seigneur

Guyape de Saint-Aubain.[59] Louis XI. made great efforts to develop

the silk trade in France, by inviting over Italian workmen; and they

began under his reign to fabricate silks in Touraine and Lyons.

Francis I. greatly developed the trade of Lyons. In 1554, under Henry

II., the masters and men employed in the manufacture of gold, silver,

and silk in Lyons were twelve thousand in number. Under Henry II. were

planted the mulberry trees of Bourdezière, Tours, Chenonceaux,

Toulouse, and Moulins. These plantations, however, were of very small

extent. They were not the result of a general and truly popular

effort; moreover, civil war came very soon, and turned men's minds

away from the isolated attempts of some few private individuals.

Sericulture, in fact, did not assume any great importance in France

till the reign of Henry IV.

[58] De Gasparin, "Essai sur l'Introduction des Vers à Soie en

Europe," p. 70.

[59] "Théâtre d'Agriculture d'Olivier de Serres," tome ii., p.

158. In 8vo.

This king saw with grief considerable sums of money leaving France

each year for the purchase of raw silk or of silk stuffs. Two men

marvellously furthered his project of encouraging the silk trade. One

of these men was Barthelemy Laffemas, called _Beausemblant_. For a

long time he had been writing memoir upon memoir, to demonstrate the

advantages to be derived from the plantation of the mulberry tree in

France; and he tells us that silkworms were then raised with success

at Nantes, at Poissy, and even at Paris. The second supporter whom

Henry IV. found in the propagation of sericulture was a man

distinguished in a very different way from that of M. Laffemas. This

was Olivier de Serres, the author of the "Théâtre de l'Agriculture;"

he whom Henry IV. called his _lord and master in agriculture_. Olivier

de Serres was the first among his countrymen who had published

instructions regarding the cultivation of mulberry trees and the

rearing of silkworms. Henry IV., who had noticed his writings, called

him to Paris; and, on his solicitation, caused twenty thousand

mulberry trees and a great quantity of silkworms' eggs, of which a

distribution was made over the whole of France, to be imported from

Italy. From that moment, sericulture was propagated rapidly in the

Cévennes, in Provence, in Languedoc, in Touraine, and many other

provinces. Mulberry trees were planted at Fontainebleau, in the royal

park of Tournelles, and even in the Tuileries, where an Italian lady,

named Julle, reared silkworms for Henry IV.

Notwithstanding this great impulse, sericulture dwindled away on the

death of that king. It received a fresh impulse under Colbert, the

great minister, who succeeded in creating the spirit of commerce and

trade in France. New manufactories were established, and plantations

of mulberry trees formed in many of the provinces. All this progress

was suddenly brought to a standstill by the iniquitous revocation of

the Edict of Nantes, which deprived France of her leading commercial

men. Driven from their own country, the Protestant families of the

Cévennes established abroad silk manufactories, the fabrics of which

rivalled those of French production.

In the eighteenth century the intendants of the provinces tried, but

with very slight success, to give a fresh impetus to sericulture in

France. The Abbé Boissier de Sauvages published, about 1760, some

works, which prove him to have been a patient observer, an accurate

reasoner, and a clever rearer of silkworms. Boissier de Sauvages is

the father of modern silk-culture. During the first Revolution, men's

minds were occupied with graver subjects than the cultivation of the

mulberry tree. But, on the return of peace, they got to work again on

all sides. In 1808, the minister Chaptal estimated the weight of the

cocoon harvest at between five or six thousand kilogrammes; whilst the

invention of the Jacquard loom gave an immense impulse to the weaving

of silk stuffs. Amongst those who introduced and benefited the art of

sericulture, we must not forget Dandolo. Dandolo, who was born at

Venice in 1758, and died in 1819, was the first who, at the beginning

of this century, applied himself seriously to the amelioration of the

processes employed in the cultivation of silk. He endeavoured to

regulate the temperature, to introduce more order into the

distribution of the food to the worms, to have more spacious premises,

and to have these properly ventilated.

Now we are on this subject, we must mention the names of those who at

the present day have rendered important services to sericulture--such

as M. Camille Beauvais, who raised silkworm rearing from the

inactivity into which it had been plunged; M. Eugène Robert, who

founded in the south of France the first successful silkworm nursery;

M. Guérin-Méneville, who has devoted his life to the study of the same

question, and to whom Europe owes the introduction and the

acclimatisation of some species which will render us, perhaps, one day

very great services; and lastly, M. Robinet, who has elucidated

several practical questions in the art of sericulture. In bringing to

a close this rapid historical epitome, we will state that France

consumes annually 30,000 kilogrammes of silkworms' eggs, each

kilogramme being at the present time worth from 300 to 500 francs,

and even more. The value of manufactured silks represents annually

about 8,000,000 francs; and we find by official statistics that France

exported in 1863 silk stuffs to the value of 384,000,000 francs. This

immense trade shows how much silk is now-a-days everywhere

appreciated; in those numerous tissues called taffeta, satin, and

velvet, each of which seems to have a charm--a peculiar attraction.

The consistency of the stuff, the smoothness, the softness of surface,

the manner in which silk receives colours, the brightness, fineness,

power of reflecting, the rustling, the light or heavy folds,--all

these are beauty, elegance, and luxury, in whatever way these words

are understood.

The _Bombyx mori_ has, however, nothing alluring in its appearance.

Other caterpillars of the genus _Bombyx_ have brilliant liveries; they

are adorned with spots, blue as sapphires, green as emeralds, red as

rubies, but produce threads without brightness and fineness. The

humble silkworm, in a white blouse, like a workman, has nothing

brilliant in its dress, and yet it gives to the whole world its most

beautiful and gorgeous array. The body of the silkworm is composed of

thirteen distinct segments. In front are three pairs of articulated

legs, which will become later those of the moth. In the middle and

towards the posterior part, are five pairs of membranous legs,

furnished with a circle of very fine bristles, which assist the animal

to hook itself on to leaves and stalks. On the two sides of its body

are eighteen stigmata, or respiratory mouths.

The head of the silkworm is remarkable; it is scaly, horny, and formed

of one single piece. The mouth is provided with six small articulated

pieces. Below is a simple blade, the upper lip, having in its middle a

hollow, into which the animal causes the edge of the leaf it is

gnawing to enter, and holds it thus without any exertion. Underneath

the lip are inserted two large jaws, which cut the leaf as a pair of

scissors. Underneath, some weaker jaws divide the fragments, and a

little organ, articulated on to each jaw, that is to say, a palpus,

pushes them back towards the mouth, and prevents the smallest particle

of the leaf from falling. And lastly, in the space comprised between

the two jaws, is an under-lip, which completely closes the mouth

below. At the extremity of this piece may be seen a little

prolongation, a sort of papilla, pierced with a hole, which is the

orifice that gives issue to the silky thread.

The organs which serve for the elaboration and emission of the silk

have a peculiar interest for us. If we dissect a silkworm under water,

we succeed, sooner or later, after having removed the outer parts, in

laying bare a double apparatus, placed along the two sides of the

intestinal canal and below it. This is the apparatus which secretes

the silk; it is the double silk-bearing gland. Each one of these

glands is composed of a tube formed of three distinct parts (Fig.

201). The part which is nearest to the tail of the worm is a bent

tube, A B C, of a thirtieth of an inch in diameter, and about nine

inches in length, twisted a great many times into irregular zig-zags.

This part of the silk-producing organ is continued in an enlarged

portion, D E, which is the reservoir of the silky matter. To the

extremity, E, of this reservoir, is attached another capillary tube, E

F. These two capillary tubes, proceeding from the two glands, unite

together like two venous trunks, as the plate shows, in one single,

short canal, F, which opens in the mouth of the worm, at its

under-lip.

[Illustration: Fig. 201.--Silk secreting apparatus.]

It is in the narrow hinder tubes that the silky matter is formed. It

collects in the swollen part, D E, which is, properly speaking, the

reservoir; and remains there in the glutinous state. Having reached

the capillary tubes, it begins to assume consistency, and forms two

threads, which are united together at the point of junction of the

tubes, and come out through the orifice, with the appearance of a

single thread, to be conducted and directed by the animal to those

points it has selected.

It was hoped that by taking from the body of the worm the viscous

matter contained in the glands, silk could be formed. But this hope

was disappointed. It was found possible, it is true, to take the silk

out; to draw it out into threads more or less fine; but up to this

time it has only been possible in this way to obtain a matter which,

when dried, more or less resembles catgut, and is easily enough spoilt

by water.

The viscous substance contained in the glands must then be elaborated

by the insect itself. When it arrives in the conduit common to the

capillary tubes, under the form of a thread, it is impregnated with a

sort of varnish, which is poured into them from two neighbouring

glands. The varnish unites the two threads into one single thread, and

imparts to it the brilliancy of silk, and the property of resisting

the action of water. It is during the last phases of the worm's

development that the silky matter becomes abundant in the glands. At

this period the animal eats much; and it is certain that the substance

to be converted is furnished by the leaf of the tree on which the

insect feeds.

In consequence of this having been remarked, some manufacturers have

attempted to obtain their silk directly from the mulberry leaf; but

they only get a bad floss or refuse silk. This is because the silk is

not formed in the mulberry leaf. The organs of insects are

laboratories, in which manipulations unknown to man are carried on,

manipulations which he has not been able to imitate.

After this rapid glance at the fundamental parts of the organism of

the silkworm, we will occupy ourselves with the natural history,

properly so called, of this insect, and with its rearing, carried on

with a view to the production of silk.

As belonging to the first part of this programme, we have to speak of

the _moult_, of the _ages_ of the silkworm, of its maturity, of its

_mounting_ or _ascending season_, of the formation of the cocoon, of

the chrysalis, of the moth, and the eggs.

[Illustration: Fig. 202.--Head of the Silkworm during moulting.]

[Illustration: Fig. 203.--Position of Silkworm while moulting.]

The name moult has been given to a sort of crisis during which the

renewing of the skin of larvæ takes place. When it approaches, the

silkworm changes its colour. Its robe, which was white or grey, and

opaque, becomes yellow and somewhat transparent. The head swells

considerably, especially above, and the skin becomes wrinkled (Fig.

202). The worm then fasts, and prepares to cast its skin. It places

here and there some silk threads on the surrounding objects. It then

slips under these threads, so that during its movements the old skin

which it will abandon is, so to speak, gathered up. It then assumes a

peculiar position, that represented in Fig. 203, and remains in it in

a state of immobility which has been called sleep (_sommeil_).

During this sleep the new skin is formed under the old. A liquid oozes

forth between the two membranes which separates them, and allows the

silkworm to leave its old skin. To effect this, the worm begins by

raising its head, and by making contortions. The old skin splits round

the muzzle, or snout, on the head and back; then by different

movements the animal emerges from its skin, which remains held up by

the silken threads. The duration of the time occupied in moulting

varies with the degree of the heat or humidity of the atmosphere; but

in general the state of _sleep_ lasts from twelve to twenty-four

hours. One hour after the crisis the worm begins again to eat.

[Illustration: Fig. 204.--Egg and first age.]

The _ages_ of the silkworm are the periods of time which elapse

between one moult and another. If we observe some silkworms when the

temperature is favourable, we shall find that there are four moults,

and consequently five ages. At the first age (Fig. 204), the silkworm

is black and hairy; then of a nut colour at the moment when the first

moult is going to take place. "The appearance presented by these worms

collected together on a leaf," says Dandolo, "is that of a downy

surface of a dark chestnut colour, in the midst of which one sees

nothing but a movement of little animals having their heads raised,

working them about, and presenting black, shiny muzzles. Their bodies

are completely covered with hairs arranged in straight lines, between

which one perceives along the whole length of the body other longer

hairs."[60]

[60] "L'Art d'élever les Vers à Soie," par le Comte Dandolo.

In 8vo. 2e édition. Lyon, 1825.

[Illustration: Fig. 205.--Second age.]