Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-04-12

lieves the velvet black of the wings, and
which varies with every change of light
And yet this beautiful insect was at first
| an ugly maggot, then an adult caterpillar,
afterward a counterpart of the mummy, and
at last worthy of Mr.. Swainson's vivid
| description, as quoted above" All butter
flies lay eggs in favorable places, usually in
the late autumn. In some cases these eggs
remain unmatched until spring, while In
| others they are soon Matched, the maggot or
larva passes into the pupa or chrysalis state,
and remains thus until the warm weather
releases it from the winter tomb and causes
the wonderful Transformation.
A More Interesting Process.
The birth of butterfly is similar to that
of moth-miller, but lar more interesting,
particularly in case of the larger species.
After the first perceptible agitation Of the
chrysalis there is an apparent kicking at
the leg end, presently followed by wrig-
Cling of the whole animal like that of man
trying to doff an undersized overcoat. Then
the cerement bursts. A half-formed and
helpless butterfly is first seen, but
in few minutes it becomes a
perfect winged insect. and the rapidity of
this development is very wonderful. The
wings when first seen lie close to the body.
They are apparently not more than perhaps
halt an inch long, and they are almost de-
void of color. But within those few minutes
the wings will apparently grow SO as to be,
in some cases, more than two inches long,
and all the beautiful color will simultane-
ously appear.
There is nothing more delicate or dainty
than butterfly. 1t seems to almost live on
the odor of flowers, and it abhors anything
filthy. But in its first stage, that of the
maggot or larva, it is the most voracious of
all creatures, and there is hardly anything
more loathsome and repulsive. A cater
pillar will eat twice its weight Of leaves in
"a hours, thus paralleling the capacity of
the irishman's little pig which would "ate
a1pailful of swIll and then the baste's body
didn't half fill the pail" Such 'voracity
would be about equivalent to an OK eating
wagon load Of hay every day.
Old Age of the Caterpillar.
The effect of this enormous appetite, and
the gluttonous habit of taking meals at all
hours, is rs hard on the auimal's outer cov-
ering as the cellar-door slide on the trousers
of a small boy. The growth from the in
side is too rapid for that of the skin. The
consequence is that the skin bursts, peels
of, and new suit hastily made to measure,
and very good fit appears beneath. This
change of clothes occurs not less than half
a dozen times in the brieflife of some cater
pillars.
The old age of the animal is as interesting
as its youth. Unlike Solomon's lilies OF the
plain, the caterpillar both tolls and spins
When it feels the infrmities of age it first
makes web. or perhaps finds suitable ac-
commodations without that trouble, and
then spins the cocoon in which it envelopes
itself This cocoon is made of threads finer
than silk, drawn from a secretion in the
animals body. The strands are held to-
gether by a sticky substance which makes
the cocoon as tight as a shell. and in every
respect very much like the cerement of
mummy. In this condition it passes into
the pupa or chrysalis state. Chrysalis means
golden, and there the caterpillar mummy
remains until the genial warmth of spring
bursts the golden locket. j. H. WEBB.