The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1876-04-20
ENTOMOLOGY.
A Few Of ihc Mnny wonders Of 'h",'nNr'
world.

world.
The following are extracts from n lee,
turc by Prof. Charles V. Riley, delivered
at Washington University, st. Louis,
March 2ith:
have been familiar with insects from
my boyhood have reared thousands,
and watched many an image struggle
through its silkcn ccrcmcntS or burst ITS
chrysais bonds; but never witness the
opcrntion-l never contemplate lllAI
within the masked worm is locked up
fine future buttcrfly-withoul experience
iur the same keen admiration aS OF yorc.
The genial breath Of floral spring, with
IFS mCllowing influences; the intensity OF
the lcafy and glorious SUMNER when
natures pulse beats strongly aud lite Is
at its acme the golden and dreamy
autumn, with its gladdcning harycS(S; ;
and the stern, cold winter, which sends
the blood tingling with renewed V&or
through our veins, are each OF them
welcome. We never weary OF these re
curing seasons. so it is with all of ma
turc's works. They possess Il perpetual
charm which never lautH.
THE MErAMoRrIosEs OF INsECIS'
Every insect passes through tour dis
tinct states of existence: lSl, the egg
I'd. the larvae, or masked state; st, the
pupa, or uucsccnt state; lth, the image,
or prrlrct state. Though in some or
drrs. where the transformations are
called incomplete, the form is but slight
" changed in the passage from the
second to the last states, yet III the great
majority of cases the transition from
one state to another is sufficiently sud
den. and the form SO changes that there
is no manner of resemblance between
them.
Now, not only does the outward ap-
pcarancc radically differ in these three
| states, but the internal structure Is aiSo
completely changed. In the caterpillar
we find thousands Of muscles when
move the different scgmcntS OF wlIrl
it is made up, very capaciouS stomach,
and powerful Jaws for maSllCallng io"d
In he butterfly the muscles are dlllcr-
cnt in position and functions, the slom-
ach is weIInigh obsolete, and the jaws
are replaced by Il long, hollow tongue
for sucking up liquids. From the groy-
ling, greedy worm, confined to its iood-
rlant. TO the frail and aerial creature
hitting 50 ioyfully from flower to flower
and robbing them of nectar, what a
change!
Thc dc(t little fly that 50 noisclcsaly
darts about your table, with ms delicate
limbs and wings, its wonderful proboHcl'
and complex eyes, was only Il few days
before disgusting little maggoI, Hotlns
in filth, without eyes, without legs, WIN
out wings.
No wonder that, without our present
knowledge Of physiology and biology,
thc ancicnts looked upon the metamor-
phoscs of insects as cmhlcmatic OF tn,
| human souls progress from this grovcl
inc, earthly condition, through death tt
immortal life. The fable OF" "Cupid ant
psychc" is evidently based upon them
and Psyche in Greek means both sou
and butterfly" and although in real
ity the larva is but the baby and th
pHpa the youth of the same individual
The changes arc SO remarkable that 81
rood IN anatomist n Swammcrdam re
marks of them that "wc see therein TN
resurrection painted before our eyes, an'
cxcmpilicd 50 as to be examined by on
hands,"
ENTOMOLOGY AS A STUDY.
That there exists certain contempt
in the public mind for what are dcrsvc
" termed "bugs,' in America, is to,
evident, particularly in our cities, where
the word is associated onlywith trouble
some or offensive species. Yet this con
tempt is unwarrantcd. The whole ella"
should not be Judged by the exceptional
few. There is scarcely one Of these crca
lures but, when carefully examined
presents Il perfect mcrocosnl OF wondc
and beauty, and the structure OF mos
of them ismorc complicated than that o
man himself. They are possessed o
senses which we have no sense to con
ceiyc, We find assembled among then
all the striking pcculiarities of other AMI
mails. The piercing, but simple, eye o
the eagle or the lynx will not compare
with the stcreoscopic and compound cy
of the dragon-hy, that sees in all dlrcc
tions at one time; the sharp snout q
the sword fish is. comparatively, tccbl
weapon by the side of that OF Il Pirate
or soldier-bug; the jaws OF Il lion Al
weak in comparison with those OF an Al
or of tiger-beetle; the tongue OF II Ii
ard is short compared to that of Il haw
moth. What is the architecture OF ii
beaver by the side of that of the be'
, Compare the jumping of the hangar,
with that of 4 flea or P~clloptera, Il
o fecundity of the hare with that OF Il
I aphis, or of the female termite, whit
, has been known to lay an egg a SecoI
n for twenty-four hours; the climbing
r the squirrel with that of the hyi u,
a swiftness of the antelope with that Oh :, u
O. cicindela or carabus-and you WIN III
4 that, if the acts be measured by the '''
"a of the actors, insects invariably carr
nj off the palm. The electricity ot Il
.s oymnotus or of the torpedo, the hor
+, If the stag and rhinoceros, the burro
=" ING of the mole, the phosphorcscence
the iellyfish, the changing colors OF
;rh chameleon, are reproduced in the Re
rius serratus, in the stag and rhinOcc
beetles, the mole cricket, the glow-wo