The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1885-07-02
MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES.
by EMMA NJ. RENTON.

The general characteristics of
Moths and Butterflies are, that they
are small.headed insects, with four
wings, which are covered with scales;
the tongue consists of two tubular
or hollow threads, adapted for sue
ton, and coiled when not in use.
The Sphinx Moth, which is COM
mon here, has feathcrcd antcnn@
and coiled tongue, six legs, and
under the neck is q patch of soft
down, which is triae lighter than
the color of the wings. They are as
a rule night fiers, although a few
may be seen during the day.
The common Clothes Moth depo-
sits its eggs in wooden material, the
white larvae doing great deal of
damage in making their cocoons. 1t
seems, to all appearance, perfectly
harmless and apparently lifeless;
but after removing the white coat
ing that is around it, and examining
it carefully, it seems to be made up
of rings or segments, and in every
way is perfect moth, although
without its wings, and considering
that it is not yet fully developed, it
can easily be seen how these small
creatures can do so much damage.
There are q great variety of moths
upon the islands, but they are very
difficult to catch. The commonest
of all is the Miller Moth.
Butterflies are day fliers, and dis
tinguished from the moth by their
knobbled antennn. The larva is
cylindrical and covered with spines,
and feeds upon plant termed as
clepias, a species of the milk weed.
They are great caters, but this is
accounted for, as they pass through
a sort of torpid vegetative existence
for at least five days. When the
caterpillar has reached its full size,
it crawls to the under part of leaf,
or, as in this case it was piece of
wire netting, any protected spot,
and spins little knob of silk which
it takes hold of with its posterior
legs. 1t appears very uneasy and
restless before it takes the form of a
chrysalis, when, by very strong and
painful efforts, a slit is made in
the back of the third ring or seq
ment, and the chrysalis forces it.
self through; the skin is gradually
pushed down and thrown off by the
moving of the body, it being of no
use. We now have the chrysalis.
1t is soft, and the skin looks very
much like wet paper, blistered here
and there. Its color is at first a
light green; gradually it darkens
until it is almost black. 1t is very
pretty, with two wings of gold
upon it, which are only used
for ornament, as they are still up
on the chrysalis when the butterfly
is free. The chrysalis is an inch in
length. When it nears the time for the
last and great change, the skin be-
comes very thin and fragile, and for
two days before the butterfly is free,
its wings, the color, spots and marks,
are distinctly seen through the trans
parent skin. At last the hour az
rives: the chrysalis, which for some
time has appeared uneasy, succeeds
in splitting the thin and brittle skin
of the back, the butterfly pushes out
it's head with its tongue and antenn@,
and then its wings appear, wet and
hanging upon the sides like wet
paper. 1t is fully ten minutes before
they are able to move their wings.
When first seen they are rolled very
tightly, and soon they try to move
them, and by degrees they begin to
spread out, and keep on opening and
shutting them, as if they were get
ting ready to fly, but it is quite a
little time before they attempt it.
As soon as they begin to be uneasy
in their cage, it is time they were
released, and as soon as free they
do not fly very far, but rest every
few minutes, apparently stopping to
enjoy their surroundings. 1t is ten
days from the time they first assume
the form of the chrysalis to their
appearance as butterflies. Their
upper wing measures two inches and
quarter, the lower ones an inch
and n half.
There are great many varieties
of these insects on the Islands. The
commonest of all is an oran9e-colored
one with black markings, another is
jet black with red marking. There
is still another variety just about
the size of our common moth, which
is very beautiful, and is oftener seen
in woods than anywhere else.