•JpiSgs

ooisrarEKrTS-

The End and Object of Preaching — Ministerial Qualifies

in Early Times— Preaching in the 17th, 18th, and 19th Ce
Extempore Preaching— Historical and Literary Styles — I
Picturesque Style — Funeral Sermons — Eccentric Preac-hing-

Etc., etc.

oSf , -

*

THE BUTTERFLY YIYARIUM ;

OE,

INSECT HOME.

*

/

THE YIVARIUM ; OR, INSECT-HOME.

FOR OliSEHVINO THE TRANSFORMATIONS OF DUTTERFI.1ES, MOTHS, AND OTHER INSECTS.

BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM;

Olt,

Fusseet Home:

BEING AN ACCOUNT OF

A NEW METHOD OE OBSERVING THE CURIOUS METAMORPHOSES OF SOME
OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL OF OUR NATIVE INSECTS.

COMFBISING ALSO

A POPULAE DESCRIPTION OF THE HABITS AND INSTINCTS OE MANY
OF THE INSECTS OP THE VARIOUS CLASSES REFERRED TO ; WITH
SUGGESTIONS FOR THE SUCCESSFUL STUDY OF ENTO-
MOLOGY BY MEANS OF AN INSECT VIVARIUM.

BY

H. NOEL HUMPHREYS,

AUTHOR 01? "BRITISH MOTHS AND THEIR TRANSFORMATIONS/9 "INSECT CHANGES,’’

"OCEAN GARDENS,’’ ETC.

ILLUSTRATED WITH COLOURED ENGRAVINGS.

LONDON:

WILLIAM LAY, KING WILLIAM STREET, STRAND.

MDCCCLVIII.

THOMAS HA.KEII.Di

LONDON:

rr»

SALISBURY SQUARE,

IIEEI STREET.

WELLCOME INSTITUTE
LIBRARY

Coll.

welMOmec

Call

No.

^ •

PEEEACE.

For many years past, the occasional pursuit of
studies connected with the habits and transforma-
tions of insects, has helped to fill a considerable
portion of my leisure verv agreeably ; and in this
unpretending volume I lave endeavoured to ar-
range some of the results of those pleasantly
remembered labours in such a way as to tempt
others to seek their holiday amusement in a similar
course of research and observation, as it is a field
which never fails to reward the labourer with in-
struction as well as entertainment.

This little book must not, therefore, he deemed
a scientific essay on the subject of which it treats,
nor even an elementary introduction to entomology,
to neither of which it has any pretension. Never-
theless, I have not been contented with stringing
together a number of unconnected anecdotes ; hut

have sought, while describing many of the interest-

•

mg aspects of insect life, to explain at the same

VI

PREFACE.

time something of the order and method of ar-
rangement by means of which the thousands of
creatures forming the insect world have been
named, classed, and grouped into homogeneous
families, so as to facilitate their study, and enable
naturalists to methodize, in an orderly and easily
accessible form, all the successive discoveries of
those who have made this branch of natural history
their particular study.

Order and arrangement are always among the
first wants experienced by young naturalists. Even
children, in their first gatherings of wild flowers,
seem to have an instinctive desire to sort out those
of similar colours or appearance, and group each
kind together. The lamented Hugh Miller, in his
very last work, “ The Testimony of the Eocks,”
has especially dwelt upon this natural tendency of
the human mind to that kind of order and classifi-
cation upon which the arrangement or summing up
of all positive science is founded ; and several
other physiologists have also noticed this general
and unmistakable tendency.

A feeling of this kind was one of the first
which I experienced myself, as a tyro in entomology ;
for I soon became convinced that the learning the
mere name of the insect whose habits I had been

PREFACE.

Yll

observing, conveyed but little information to the
mind ; and that it was the origin of the name it-
self, and its reference to other names, and to other
groups of names, and the reason for their being so
grouped, which was the kind of knowledge most
likely to enable me to organize the information I
was acquiring, and to take that general view of the
subject which alone gives to a student the power to
appreciate duly each separate part.

With this view I have endeavoured to show
how the first glimpses of our knowledge of insects
gradually grew up into an important branch of
science, by successive improvements in the various
methods of classification adopted at different
periods.

To some this may appear a “ dry” portion of
the subject ; but to me the history of Entomology,
from its crude beginnings to the establishment of
the present systematic arrangement, by means of
which the great tribe of insects has been grouped
into well-established “ orders,” with their subdi-
visions of “ families,” “ genera,” and “ species,”
has always appeared nearly as interesting as the
immediate study of the structure, the habits, and
even the metamorphoses of the insects themselves.

Therefore, while describing the best manner of

Yin

PREFACE.

establishing a Vivarium for the convenient obser-
vation of some of the wonders of the insect world,
I conld not resist the temptation to say something
of Entomology as a science, instead of confining
myself, as is most usual in popular works on the
subject, to the mere narration of interesting or
entertaining facts.

I have also endeavoured to avoid another com-
mon feature in works of this class. I allude to that
continual straining after the discovery of specially
providential arrangements in matters which do not
seem to require that kind of interpretation, and
in which the plainest evidences of design are fre-
quently distorted by volunteered explanations, the
shallow ingenuity of which, in the imperfect state
of our knowledge of the subject, often amounts to
something more than ridiculous.

H. N. H.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

Inteodtjction

CHAPTER II.

Description of tlie Structure of tlie Insect Vivarium and of the Insects
represented within it in the Frontispiece

CHAPTER III.

Some Account of the Characteristics which distinguish the Class of
Creatures termed Insects, and the Characters by which they are
separated from other Allied Forms of Animal Life

CHAPTER IY.

Of the Eggs of Insects, and their Nests

CHAPTER Y.

Of the Caterpillar, and other Kinds of Larvae — Of the Derivation of
their Popular and Scientific Names — And of their Structure, Habits,
Instincts, Devastations, etc.

CHAPTER YI.

The Pupa, or Chrysalis — Preparation to enter into the Pupa State — its
Character, etc. ..........

CHAPTER YII.

Of Insects in their Perfect or “ Imago” State, especially those of the
Order Lepidoptera — Then- Escape from the Chrysalis — The Sudden
Growth of theh Wings on their issuing from the Shell — The Du-
ration of their Existence in the Perfect State — And the Description
of tho Butterflies engraved in Plate II.

PAGE

1

8

29

37

62

90

122

X

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VIII.

Of the G-reat White Butterfly and other Butterflies represented in
Plate III

CHAPTER IX.

Of the Second and Third Divisions of the Order Lepidoptera, according
to Linnaeus and others ; and of the Modem Suppression of the
Second Division — Of the Transformations of Sphinx Ligustri , the
Privet Hawk-moth, and others of the Pamily that may be reared
in a Vivarium

CHAPTER X.

Description of the Moths and their Caterpillars in Plate V., and of
other Moths and Caterpillars suitable for the Vivarium

CHAPTER XI.

Of Dragon-flies and other Insects belonging to the Order Neuroplera .

CHAPTER XII.

The Beetles, and the great Order Coleoptera

CHAPTER XIII.

On the other Orders of Insects, with Brief Allusions to such among
them as are Pit Subjects for the Vivarium

CHAPTER XIV.

Of the Times, Places, and Seasons for Collecting Insects for the
Vivarium

CHAPTER XV.

Of the Rearing of Exotic Insects from Imported Eggs or Chrysalides .

PAGE

145

165

184

204

226

252

261

272

LIST OF PLATES.

♦

PAGE

PLATE I. . . . . ■ • • • Frontispiece.

THE YIYARITJM ; oe, Insect-Home. For observing tbe Transforma-
tions of Butterflies, Moths, and other Insects.

PLATE II. Chapter YII 122

1. Vanessa Io — The Peacock Butterfly.

2. The Caterpillar of the Peacock Butterfly.

3. The Chrysalis of the Peacock Butterfly.

4. Polyommatus Alexis — The Common Blue Butterfly.

5. The Female of the Common Blue Butterfly, showing the under side of

the wings.

6. A singular variety of the Common Blue Butterfly with the wings of

both sexes. 7. The Caterpillar, and 8, the Chrysalis, of the Common
Blue Butterfly.

PLATE III. Chapter VIII. 145

1. The Caterpillar of the Great White Butterfly.

2. The Chrysalis of the Great White Butterfly.

3. Pieris Prassicai — The Great White Butterfly.

4. The Caterpillar of the Clifden Blue Butterfly.

5. The Chrysalis of the Clifden Blue Butterfly.

6. Polyommatus Adonis — The Clifden Blue Butterfly

7. The Female of the Clifden Blue Butterfly.

8. Polyommatus Corydon— The Chalk-hill Blue Butterfly.

9. The Chrysalides of the Ichneumon in the Caterpillar of Great White

Butterfly.

PLATE IV. Chapter IX 165

1. The Caterpillar of the Privet Hawk-moth.

2. The Shell of the Chrysalis of the Privet Hawk-moth.

3. The Privet Hawk-moth, just emerged from the Chrysalis.

4. Sphinx Ligustris — The Privet Hawk-moth in its perfect state.

Xll

LIST OF PLATES.

PLATE Y. Chapter X 184

1. The Caterpillar of the Puss-moth.

2. Cerwra Vinula — The Puss-moth.

3. The Caterpillar of the Lobster-moth.

4. Stauropus Fagi — The Lobster-moth.

5. Lampyris Noctiluca — The Female Glow-worm.

6. The Male Glow-worm.

PLATE VI. Chapter XI 204

1. The Larva of the Common Flat-bodied Dragon-fly.

2. IAbellula JDepressa — The Common Flat-bodied Dragon-fly.

3. The Larva of the Purple-winged Dragon-fly.

4. Calopteryx Virgo — -The Purple-winged Dragon-fly.

5. The Purple-winged Dragon-fly escaping from its Chrysalis.

6- A variety of the Purple-winged Dragon-fly.

7. 8, and 9. The Larva of the Common Lady-bird, or Lady-cow, de-

vouring the aphides on a rose leaf.

10. Coccinella Dispar — The Female, commonly called the Six-spot Lady-

bird.

11. Coccinella Dispar — The Male, commonly called the Two-spot Lady-

bird.

PLATE VII. Chapter XII 226

1. Phyllium Scythe — The Leaf- insect (female).

2. Melolontha Fullo — The Variegated May-bug.

3. The Larva of Melolontha Vulgaris — The Common May-bug.

4. Chrysomela Tremulce (strongly magnified).

5. The Larva of Chrysomela.

6. The Chrysalis of Chrysomela Tremulce.

7. Acanthocinus AEdilis.

8. The Larva of Acanthocinus AEdilis.

9. Callidium Violaceum.

PLATE VIII. Chapter XY 272

1. Phalcena Regia , a North American Moth.

2. The Caterpillar of Phalcena Regia.

THE BUTTERFLY YIYARIUM.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION.

Am HE increased attractiveness of the

kind of knowledge to he derived
vk from a careful study of Nature, in

: some of the lower and least known

forms of animal life, is to he very largely
attributed to the means of observation
afforded by those miniature conservatories
^ termed Aquaria. The Aquarium was an
invention which offered so many delightful modes
of recreation, combined with instruction, that the
possession of such a structure first became a
fashion, and then almost a rage, insomuch that
hardly a house could be found without one. The
interesting course of observation and study opened
up by these household lakes and oceans, in which
many forms of aquatic life hitherto undreamed of

2

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

by the vminitiated are exhibited as naturally and
strikingly as if seen in their native depths, have, it
must be admitted, given quite a neAV stimulus to
this class of study. At the same time, it was
beginning to be felt that the field of study was,
to a certain extent, of a limited character, and a
strong desire was manifested that the sphere of
research of that class should be extended, and the
subjects varied.

In order to gratify this longing for an extended
range of observation, I propose, by somewhat simi-
lar means, to afford equal facilities for pursuing
a course of study in an entirely different field ; and
with this view I am about to describe a novel kind
of Vivarium, by means of which another and very
distinct class of animal life — that of the “ world of
insects” — may be made to exhibit its wonders as
conveniently and instructively as those of the Algce,
and Zoophytes, and Molluscs of the river or the ocean
have been shown in a well-ordered Aquarium.

The nature of the very simple structure by
means of which this is to be effected, will be de-
scribed after I have put in my plea concerning the
interest of the living objects, whose curious habits
and wonderful metamorphoses it is intended to
display.

INTRODUCTION.

o

O

By means of such a structure as the one just
alluded to, the insect, with its series of striking
transformations, may he made to disclose to the
curious eye a succession of phenomena in some
instances more beautiful and surprising than even
those of the singularly organized forms of life that
clothe the borders of the ocean floor. Few, in these
days of general education and shilling lectures,
are without the knowledge, though of a vague
kind, that all the caterpillars, so commonly seen
feeding on our ordinary garden plants, are des-
tined to become moths or butterflies, or, at all
events, to undergo some remarkable change ; but of
the precise nature of that change, for want of some
convenient mode of observation, they are in all pro-
bability profoundly ignorant. Of what particular
kind of butterfly, moth, or saw-fly any caterpillar
under observation may be the first stage, they have
no idea.

Very few, for instance, even among those who
take a tolerably correct general view of the nature
of the metamorphoses of insect life — very few, on
seeing a colony of caterpillars, of deep velvet black,
feeding voraciously upon a bed of nettles, would be
able to pronounce that these singular-looking and
intensely black creatures are, in fact, the gor-

4

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

geously coloured Peacock Butterfly in its larva
stage. Nor, if they observed suspended from one of
the nettle leaves a curiously angulated object —
something like a small model of a Gothic pinnacle,
such as might have been hanging up in a museum
as a specimen of mediaeval art — would they be able
to declare at once that it was the same creature in
its chrysalid stage. Even the resplendent metallic
specks on the little suspended object, looking like
the remains of former gilding nearly worn off,
would be no help, though such marks on the chry-
salis are well known to entomologists as a peculiar
characteristic of the genus Vanessa , to which the
Peacock Butterfly belongs, and respecting which
there are many other curious things to be told.

All these, and a thousand other things connected
with the intricate history of insects, are but dimly
learnt from books — that is, by the general reader; and
when so learnt, they are soon forgotten. But when
the knowledge is acquired from actual observation,
then the impression is so vivid that it cannot be
easily effaced. It is to enable the student to make
these observations in his own study or drawing-
room, that I have devised the little structure which
I am about to describe in the present volume, as
well as the habits, instincts, and transformations of

INTRODUCTION.

5

some of tlie beautiful insects, of which it may he
made the healthful and enjoyable habitation.

It is true that such enthusiastic naturalists as
Swammerdam, Lyonnet, Reaumur, Bonnet, and our
own Kirbys and Spences, who have devoted a great
portion of their lives to the subject, succeeded, by
dint of extraordinary perseverance, in effecting the
object they had in view without such artificial aid.
They watched for weary hours, and days, and nights
by the haunts of the insects whose habits they were
studying, and so detected, in all their phases, the
transformations which, in many instances, they were
the first to observe and describe ; and to such inde-
fatigable observers it is that we are indebted for the
mass of curious knoAvledge which we now possess
upon the interesting subject of insect metamor-
phosis, which Avas entirely misunderstood down to
a comparatively recent period.

It cannot be expected, however, that the ordi-
nary entomological student, busy with household
cares or with the continual calls of some all-absorb-
ing profession, should resort to such means of
acquiring knoAvledge, even upon this interesting
subject ; ordinary students require a method of
obtaining this information as convenient as that of
a book, but, if possible, combining at the same time

6

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

all tlie fascination of studies from living objects. I
have therefore devised for myself, and others simi-
larly situated, the contrivance which I may style,
more comprehensively than on my title page, the
“ Insect Vivarium,” for by its aid not only the
changes of butterflies and moths, but those, still
more extraordinary, of many other classes of insects
may be observed in all their stages.

The plan of the structure is so simple that its
manufacture may be very economical, and can either
be made by the student himself, with the aid of the
instructions I shall set forth, or can be purchased,
at a most moderate cost, of an experienced manu-
facturer* of cases of this class, who is now devoting
much careful attention to then practical construc-
tion in a convenient, and at the same time orna-
mental, form.

The collecting of objects for furnishing the Viva-
rium will form a very fascinating recreation for all
such as delight in a ramble through the fields and
woods. It will form a delightful addition to the or-
dinary attractions of a country walk, for the searcher
among the haunts of the insect tribes will find his
rambles varied by a thousand incidents, full of little

* The address of the manufacturer, with a list of prices, will
be found at the end of this volume.

INTRODUCTION.

7

discoveries and surprises, eacli of which will furnish
another page to his mental hook of Nature — an ever
ready and delightful volume of reference, which he
will often call upon memory to open when he desires
to conjure up a retrospect of pleasant sunny hours
passed within hearing of the song of the lark and
the soothing hum of his insect friends, in the spring
or summer fields.

CHAPTER II.

DESCRIPTION OP THE STRUCTURE OR THE INSECT
YIYARIUM AND OE THE INSECTS REPRESENTED
WITHIN IT IN THE PRONTISPIECE.

EEORE proceeding- to describe the
form and structure of the “ insect

y home,” as an ornamental drawing-

C5®

room object, I will say a few words
on the more ordinary contrivances long
since resorted to by entomologists for the
rearing of caterpillars and chrysalides ;
as that will at once prove to the reader
the practicability of the plan about to be suggested.
In these rude “breeding cages,” as they are termed
by entomologists, but which might more correctly
be termed “ rearing cages,” many of the conditions
have been already learnt and established by expe-
rience, which I shall adopt in my somewhat more
elaborate, and decidedly more ornamental, structure.

By several of the primitive methods referred to,
and, in some instances, without the seemingly requi-

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

9

site amount of ordinary care, I have seen caterpillars
preserved and kept in health till they had success-
fully effected their change — though, of course,
without affording any especial facility for observing
that change in the way that will be secured by the
glass Vivarium which I propose.

I well recollect, for instance, at one of the
Wednesday evening entomological meetings, at the
hospitable house of the late Mr. Brands Stephens,
seeing a beautiful little colony of the larvae of the
pretty British Moth, Nyssici zonaria , in a very thriv-
ing and healthy state, although confined in a small
tin box, with no ventilation beyond that obtained
through a perforated lid. They were feeding upon
some fresh leaves of the common milfoil, their
natural food ; and, though the box did not appear
to he of sufficient depth to allow them to descend
into a layer of earth to undergo their change, in an
analogous manner to that in which the transforma-
tion takes place in their natural state, yet I believe
Mr. Stephens succeeded in obtaining several fine
specimens of the perfect insect from that brood,
especially of the female moth, which is a curious
wingless creature, totally different in aspect from
the handsome male.

The graceful movements of those larvae of

10

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

Nyssia zonciria, as I recollect, made a great im-
pression upon me at tire time — being then a very
young entomologist — for they were Geometridce , that
is, what are popularly termed hoopers, from the
curious manner in which the body is alternately
looped and extended in their peculiar method of
locomotion. In these evolutions the long graceful
forms of the slender bodies of these caterpillars,
which are of a deep green, with a single longitudinal
line of brilliant yellow, were seen to the greatest
advantage ; and I did not rest till I, too, had a
brood of Nyssia zonaria.

But though insects may sometimes be reared
successfully by such simple means as those de-
scribed, it can only be done by very constant atten-
tion, and with the experience of a thoroughly
practised field entomologist, well acquainted with
all the requirements of the insects. One of my
own first experiments upon a similar scale, for
instance, was very signally and fatally unsuccessful.
I had discovered a brood of the remarkable,
though common, larva? of Vanessa Io, feeding on
a bed of nettles; and observing their singular
branching spines, several of which issue from each
segment of the body, I imagined them to be
creatures as rare as they were curious, and carried

THE BUTTERFLY YIYARIUM.

11

off several scores of tliem as a valuable prize. I
had taken the precaution of securing a few nice
sprigs of nettle along with them ; and placing a
small saucer of water, to keep the nettles fresh, in
the centre of a deep pie-dish, I put the caterpillars
carefully upon the leaves, considering that if they
fell off, or left them to seek fresher food, they would
not he able to escape by climbing up the polished
sides of the dish, while they could very easily regain
some of the deserted leaves that touched the bottom
of their prison, and so return to their food. I next
considered, that as the caterpillars were still very
small, not having been hatched many days, that the
best way to enable them to acquire strength would
he to give them as much air as possible. With this
view I placed them outside my bed-room window,
on the stone sill. They appeared to go to their food at
once with great appetite ; and, as they looked very
healthy, I thought my contrivance — which secured
them full liberty in the open air, and yet prevented
their escape — was a most ingenious one. But, as it
turned out, I had been too easily pleased with my
devices and precautions ; for, returning to my
window in the after part of the same day, I found
the bright summer sun full on that side of the
house, and perceived that the heat, radiating from the

12

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

polished surfaces of the sides and bottom of the dish,
had actually baked my brood of Vanessa Io. The
little caterpillars, or rather their shrunk and
shrivelled remains, lay, mere dried skins, at the
bottom of the vessel, which I intended should have
been to them a luxurious home.

My subsequent efforts were more successful ;
but the best rearing box of a rude kind that I ever
saw was one in the garden of Mr. H. Doubleday, of
Epping, one of our best known and most successful
collectors. It was a strongly made box, about two
feet long, one foot broad, and perhaps eighteen inches
deep ; being filled about half-way up with ordinary
garden mould, and having a layer of broken bricks,
etc., underneath, to secure drainage. The lid was
formed of close wire-work, and the box was sunk in
the ground to about half its own depth, with the view
of preserving a certain degree of moisture in the
mould contained within. The position in which
the box was sunk was also well considered, inas-
much as it was sheltered by a thick hedge, as well
from too much sun as from cold winds. In this
box, at the time I saw it, many magnificent cater-
pillars were feeding, each upon its own particular
kind of foliage, branches of which were kept fresh
in water.

THE BUTTERFLY YIVARIUM.

13

The caterpillars, thus placed as nearly as
possible in a state of nature, performed their trans-
formations perfectly and healthily ; and many of the
matchless specimens, which now form the chief
ornaments of Mr. Doubleday’s celebrated collection,
were, I believe, reared in that manner.

I have since had a similar contrivance in active
operation in my own garden, in which I have been
almost invariably successful in rearing to the perfect
state every caterpillar introduced. But the objec-
tion to this arrangement is, that I was seldom
enabled to observe the transformations at the time
when they were most interesting. The case being at
some little distance from the house, I could not
visit it often enough to make sure of catching my
proteges at the very moment of casting the skin,
suspending or burying themselves for change, or
spinning their cocoons in preparation for their
coming transformation to the chrysalis state. N or
was I, except in a very few instances, ever in time
to witness the escape of the moth or butterfly from
the pupa case, and so be enabled to observe the
sudden growth of the win^s from a diminutive size
to their full extent, which, in some insects, takes
place in a few minutes — the rapid increase of size
being distinctly visible.

14

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

In order to place tlie continually occurring
wonders of my rearing case in a condition for more
convenient observation, I conceived the plan of a
glass Vivarium, of a form somewhat similar to that
of a fern case, but with additions and modifications
suited to its special purpose. The Frontispiece to
this volume represents such a case. It is a front
view ; and, being intended for rearing aquatic as
well as land insects, a portion of the interior is set
apart for a small reservoir of water, starting from
the front angles of the case and curving backwards
in the form of a little bay. The water-tight separa-
tion forming this little reservoir consists of a piece
of sheet-zinc of the necessary height. It is soldered
to the bottom of the Vivarium, which is also formed
of zinc ; and up the front angles it is equally
soldered to the zinc uprights or columns. The
reservoir has, therefore, its back and sides formed
of zinc, and its front of glass, the joint at the bottom
of the glass, with the zinc floor, being rendered
secure by means of cement. The semicircular
course backward of the water division is intended
not to extend above half the depth oi the A ivarium,
even at its furthest point, in the centre, so as to
leave ample space for the land arrangements, which,
in the two back angles, will thus form a consider-

THE BUTTERFLY VIYARIUM.

15

able space. At the sides and back, tbe Vivarium is
to be of zinc, or glazed tiles, or slate, up to tbe
height of the joint just above the water-level, which
is shown in the front view. And, at this joint, the
whole of the upper part, or cover, of the Vivarium
is intended to lift off, for the purpose of general
cleaning, ventilating, etc., at proper opportunities,
when none of the insects are in a flying state. The
upper portion will be made to fit tightly to the lower,
by sinking into a deep groove, extending round the
whole joint. At the sides of the structure, joining
both back and front columns, a broad strip of per-
forated zinc will be attached, for ventilation, which
will form the frame-work to a glass-door, affording
easy access to all parts of the Vivarium, and entirely
occupying the rest of the space above the solid zinc
or tile-work, which will reach up to the joint, as
before stated. The lower part of the glass-door
will, therefore, be on a level with the surface of the
land arrangements, and will reach to the top of the
square portion of the frame, from which the roof
springs. The opposite side will be the same, except
that the glass portion need not be made to open,
as another door would scarcely be necessary ; and I
may remark here, that the little gallery at the crown
of the roof is also of perforated zinc.

16

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

Tlie back, as it will have been seen, will be like
tlie front, with the exception that the frame will be
solid — that is, of zinc or slate — up to the same height
as the water-line in front. A variety of effect
might, indeed, be obtained, if desired, by making
the solid lower portion of the frame ascend gradually
from the water-level, at the front angles, to some
four or five inches higher at the back, so as to make
the land rise all round from the level of the water,
like the seats of an amphitheatre, till it reached the
top of the solid portions of the frame at the sides
and back ; taking care not to follow the line too
arbitrarily, but, for the sake of the picturesque,
varying it by a few irregular pieces of moss-covered
stone, etc. ; and this kind of picturesque undulation
should also be observed, as far as convenient, in the
general level of the soil.

Before filling the water portion of the Vivarium,
the bed of the little lake should be varied by a few
groups of tasteful rock-work, which, at one or two
points, might be made to conceal small shallow
flower-pots, containing garden mould, in which
water plants requiring earth may be planted, such
as Valisneria spit' alls, or a small plant of Calla
Etldopica. The other portions ot the bed ol the
tank may be covered with small, and, if possible,

*

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM. 17

pretty pebbles, or a little sand, on which, in spring
and autumn, a sprinkling of watercress-seed may-
be strewed, which, in the earlier period of its
growth, will produce the effect of a small submarine
lawn or grass-plot. But the plants must be taken
out as they begin to get large, or they would soon
fill up the tank. I believe I have stated, in another
place, that it is necessary to put in a few Pond Snails
to act as scavengers, by consuming all scraps of
decaying vegetation, and so keeping the water clean
and healthy ; but this point cannot be too much
impressed, even at the risk of repetition.

In arranging the land portion, a layer of drainers,
full three inches deep, consisting of small pieces of
broken flower-pots, bricks, etc., should be put in,
before the earth is added, in order that portions of
the earth may remain sufficiently dry for such plants
and insects as would be injured by too much mois-
ture. The planting may then commence, according
to the following instructions, and, when complete,
the little crystal palace is ready for the reception of
its interesting tenants.

Common grasses may form the staple of the
plantation, putting in a few nice closely-grown
tufty roots, and sowing grass-seed between, of the
smaller and low-growing kinds. Other plants may

c

18

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

then he added, taking care to select those which will
thrive best in such a situation, hut not omitting a
fewr of the more hardy and ornamental Ferns. In the
earth, certain tin or zinc tubes are supposed to have
been sunk, for the purpose of receiving and conceal-
ing small bottles of water, in which the stalks of
different kinds of plants required for the food of the
Caterpillars may be plunged, in order to keep them
fresh. This contrivance is very necessary, inasmuch
as the foliage often required for the Caterpillars may
be of a kind that could not be made to grow within
the case — that of the Oak or Elm, for example. We
may suppose, by wray of illustration, that the col-
lector has been so fortunate in his rambles in the
woods as to capture a larva of the splendid Purple
Emperor, which generally feeds on the Oak. It is
evident that, in such a case, it would be necessary
to keep a sprig of Oak continually fresh and green
in the Vivarium — for which purpose one of the con-
cealed bottles of water would be found precisely the
expedient required.

Pots, with small plants in flower, may be
plunged to their rims in other parts of the earth of
the Vivarium which have been arranged for that
purpose — an addition which will not only add
beauty and variety to the general aspect of the

THE BUTTERFLY VIYARIUM.

19

structure, but at the same time furnish, in the necta-
ries of their blossoms, food for the Butterflies which
have reached their perfect state, during the short
time that they can be preserved in the Vivarium.

In insect Vivaria, in which the rearing of water
insects forms part of the plan, the same principles
must be applied, in order to keep the water clear
and pure, as those employed in fresh-water Aquaria,
namely, the addition of water plants and Algce , such
as the favourite Valisneria Spiralis , and one or two
species of Chora, or some of the Oscillatorice, the
curious spasmodic movements of which are exceed-
ingly interesting. These plants serve to aerate the
water according to the principle first clearly an-
nounced by Ingenhauss in the last century, when he
stated that “ plants immersed in water , when ex-
posed to the action of light , emit an air known as
oxygen

Another approach towards the condition of na-
tural ponds, and one almost equally necessary to
preserve the purity of the water, is the introduction
to the miniature lake of some of the Water Snails,
whose function it is to consume those portions of
decaying vegetation which would otherwise rapidly
poison the water, and render it unfit for the support
of any kind of animal life, as previously stated.

20

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

This was the discovery of Mr. Warington, the
true founder of the Aquarium theory, without which
it was found impossible to preserve, for any length
of time, either salt or fresh water in a state of purity ;
the Periwinkle or Sea Snail performing those func-
tions of the scavenger for sea-water which the com-
mon Pond Snail does for lakes and rivers. The
Trumpet Snail is useful for this purpose, and, with
its regularly coiled form, it is a very pretty object ;
there is also the beautifulMarsh-shell, Pciludina Vivi-
■ para , with many others. A few of the graceful little
fish popularly called Sticklebacks might be added,
to give an appearance of life and movement to the
water, and also for the chance of observing their
curious instinct in forming a positive nest, in which
to deposit their spawn — an almost solitary instance
of nest-building among the whole of the fish tribe.
Many other objects might be made to vary the
water department ; but as in the insect Vivarium
they should not form the principal object, I shall not
refer to them here, but proceed at once to notice
the kinds of insects best suited for rearing in such a
receptacle, which I may best do in a brief descrip-
tion of the contents of the Vivarium represented in
our first Plate.

In the water, as there indicated, the larvae of

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

21

the different species of Dragon-flies should hold the
first place, as their transformations are among the
most remarkable in the whole range of insect
changes ; the first portion of their existence being
strictly aquatic, while in their perfected state the
last portion becomes as entirely aerial ; a fact which
appears, at a glance, almost as astonishing as though
a fish should, by a series of transformations, become
eventually a bird. The larvae of the flat-bodied and
that of the purple-winged Dragon-flies are repre-
sented at the bottom of the water, where they form a
singular contrast to the elegant winged form which
they are destined eventually to assume, and which
is shown fluttering above the surface near the same
part of the case.

A few larvae of the Gnat should also be present,
though not represented in our drawing, as their
playful gambols, ascending and descending in the
water, and occasionally suspending themselves to
the surface by their star-like breathing apparatus,
would form very pleasing episodes in the daily story
of the Vivarium. There might be also the larvae
and the perfected form of the great Water Beetle,
Ilydrophilus Piceus, which is not destructive, either
in its larva or imago states, and its fine action in
swimming is always an agreeable spectacle to the

22

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

naturalist. The curious Caddis Worm, safe within
his moving castle of sticks and stones, should not he
omitted, as his final change to an elegant moth-like
insect is very remarkable; and the Water Spider,
with his diving-bell formed of a glistening silver
globule of air, must not he overlooked. There are
also the important Pond Snails, represented on the
rock-work ; and many other things might be named
as suited to the water portion of the insect Yivarium,
which will he referred to and fully described in sub-
sequent Chapters, though there is not sufficient space
to exhibit them satisfactorily in our small drawing
of the Yivarium.

To continue the description of my Prontispiece,
I must next call attention to two of the purple-
winged Dragon-flies, supposed to have emerged from
their chrysalides long enough to acquire their rich
purple colour; and there is also the broad-bodied
species, still hovering closely over the element which
formed the home of his infancy, but immersion in
which would now very quickly terminate his gay
career, and spoil the lace-work of his gossamer wings.
To the left, creeping over the grass, is the Pose
Beetle, in his golden armour, representing a very
numerous class of insects which might be introduced
with good effect; many of the Beetle tribe being

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

23

remarkably handsome, and at the same time easy to
manage, as will be shown in the Chapter treating
of “ Coleoptera .” The only other representative of
his tribe which I have been able to find room for in
the design under description, is our old favourite
the pretty scarlet-coated Lady-bird, whose larvae
would find ample nourishment among the Aphides
that doubtless infest the little llose-bush shown in
the background ; but I shall have much to say about
Lady-birds, which must be deferred till I enter more
fully upon the description of Beetles in general.

We now come to the Butterflies and Moths, the
conspicuous transformations of which, and the ease
with which the insects may be managed and ob-
served during their changes, will always render
them the favourite objects of the Vivarium to all
ordinary collectors. In a conspicuous position, just
above the broad-bodied Dragon-fly, I have repre-
sented one of the handsomest of our native Lepi-
doptera , the Privet ITawk-moth ; so called in con-
sequence of the larva being generally found feed-
ing on the Privet. It is a really magnificent
insect, sometimes measuring nearly four inches
across the wings, and very beautifully marked,
though the tints, with the exception of the crimson
of the under wings, are very sober. The specimen

24

THE BUTTERFLY YIVARIUM.

represented is supposed to have just issued from the
chrysalis, the empty shell of which is seen lying on
the right bank of the little hay near the front angle.
The larva, or caterpillar, of this fine Moth is shown
feeding on a small spray of Privet to the left, the
stem of the sprig being placed in one of the con-
cealed bottles of water, as described when treating
of the structure of the Vivarium. It is one of the
handsomest of our British larvae, and yet by no
means rare, being found at the proper season, if
carefully looked for, wherever there are Privet
hedges, or large bushes of Privet in the shrubberies ;
its size, and its bright colouring, being light apple-
green with diagonal stripes of violet, rendering it
very conspicuous among the dark green leaves
which form its favourite food. I have no space
here to say more respecting this handsome Moth
and its transformations, which will be fully de-
scribed in the Chapter treating of the entomological
order Lepidoptera, which includes the whole family
of Butterflies and Moths.

Above the Privet Ilawk-moth is the fine orange-
coloured Butterfly, C alias JEdusa , popularly known
to collectors as the Clouded Yellow, probably from
the colour of the female, in which the bright orange
of the male is subdued in the hind wings to a

THE BUTTERFLY YIYARIUM.

25

dusky greyish oliYe. Indeed, in a variety which
is not extremely rare, the female is almost entirely
of a singular clouded tone, like orange seen through
a grey veil. This disparity of colouring in male and
female insects will form a very interesting subject
for discussion in its proper place, the differences
being in many instances very striking, especially
among the tribe of the pretty little blue Butterflies
of our chalk districts, one of which is represented
in the Vivarium a little below the Clouded Yellow.
The specimen there introduced is a male, the wings
of the female being clothed in dark sober brown,
instead of the brilliant azure of her gayer mate.
Immediately beneath the little blue Butterfly may
be seen a colony of the sable larvae of Vanessa Io ,
the well-known Peacock Butterfly. They are feeding
on a few heads of the common stinging Nettle,
which have been placed in one of the concealed
bottles for that purpose. Two of their chrysalides
are shown suspended to neighbouring plants, by
a process to be hereafter described. Prom these
chrysalides the perfect insect is destined to emerge,
and to form, for a short time, one of the chief glories
of the Vivarium.

At the front edge of the water, and near the
centre, I have placed a specimen of the magnificent

26

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

Purple Emperor ; though few, except very indefa-
tigable collectors, may hope to see this beautiful
creature reared in a Vivarium ; the success of the
old “ Aurelian” Moses Harris, however, described in
another place, may tempt many to try the expe-
riment. The larvae may be obtained from districts
where Oak woods are abundant ; and if properly fed,
fresh branches being placed in one of the bottles
each day, the change to the chrysalis state may
often take place healthily. Even then it is doubt-
ful whether the proper progress will be made
in the pupa state to secure the production and
emission of the perfect insect. However, with care,
and starting with several caterpillars, one or two
perfect specimens may be hoped for, the splendour
of which will amply repay any trouble they may
have cost. But this gratification must necessarily be
of very brief duration, for when the exquisite beauty
of the azure wings of this superb insect has been
displayed in the sunlight, after their first full expan-
sion, and even while their increasing power is being
tested by alternately expanding and closing them,
the natural instinct of the insect to take its lofty
flight over the tops of the highest Oaks will begin to
be felt, and for more than a day or two it will be
impossible to keep the prisoned Emperor within the

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

27

narrow limits of liis cell, however attractive it may
he made ; so that he must either he remorselessly
secured for a collection of dry specimens, or allowed
to take his free flight to the woods, according to the
feelings of the lord or lady of the castle in which he
is held in durance. The female, however, almost as
handsome, with the exception of the changeful me-
tallic azure that distinguishes the male, may prove
more tractable ; and, if so, whenever she lifts her
wings and closes them face to face, displaying the
exquisite markings of the under side, she will form
a most attractive object till she has laid her eggs,
which, as with all insects, will form the last per-
formance of her brief existence.

Above the Purple Emperor is one of the com-
monest, but not least beautiful, of our native But-
terflies— the “Cabbage "White,” of our gardens, as it
is popularly termed. The one shown is a female,
distinguished from the male by its larger size, and
also by the bright black spots which decorate the
anterior wings. The habits of the handsome cater-
pillar of this common insect are well worthy of close
observation, especially when it begins to sling it-
self up for change, a process which will be minutely
described in the Chapter on British Lepicloptera;
where also an account will be found of the fearful

28

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

insect enemies to which it is exposed ; with many
other particulars concerning its chequered career,
which would he out of place in this brief general
description of the Vivarium.

There is only one more insect shown in the design
for our insect-home, which is the pretty JEucliloe
Car dimines, better known as the “ Orange-tip.” It
is an abundant species, seen frequently sporting
about sunny places in the early spring, of which
it is one of the most welcome and beautiful
harbingers.

Cautioning all who have the care of an insect-
home to keep it scrupulously clean , and to take
care that the plants are always in a fresh and
healthy state, continually replacing such as refuse
to flourish in their miniature conservatory, I can
promise them an ample harvest of delightful and
instructive amusement.

CHAPTER III.

SOME ACCOUNT OP THE CHARACTERISTICS WHICH
DISTINGUISH THE CLASS OP CREATURES TERMED

INSECTS AND THE CHARACTERS BY WHICH THEY

ARE SEPARATED PROM OTHER ALLIED PORMS OP
ANIMAL LIPE.

O begin at the beginning, which is always,
in reality, the shortest way to the end, it
^ may be well to consider for a moment
the meaning of the term insect. It is

,N directly derived from the Latin insectum,
or intersectnm, a term which very felicit-
ously describes the most conspicuous general
characteristic by which these creatures are
distinguished, namely, the curious insection by
which the thorax, or fore part of the body, appears
nearly separated from the abdomen. In some in-
stances, this leading feature of insect formation is
so striking as not to escape the notice of the most
unobservant, as in the case of the common wasp,
for instance, or in the ant.

The Greek word entomon expresses the same
idea, and, combined with logos , meaning a dis-

30

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

course or treatise, has furnished us with a name
for that portion of natural science which concerns
insects, and which has been termed “ entomology.”

With hut few exceptions, this insection between
the two chief portions of the body does not occur in
insects in their preparatory or larva stages ; but it
is upon the characters of the perfected creature that
all classification is founded, and, in that condition
of the insect, it forms, as I have stated, a most im-
portant feature. The thorax, or front portion,
which is, in fact, the trunk or main body, exhibits
peculiarities of structure entirely opposite to those
of the higher orders of animals. These last have an
internal skeleton of hone, clothed with flesh — while
in insects it is the skeleton which is external, in
the shape of the horny case of the thorax, to which,
however, the limbs are attached, as in the higher
animals they are to the internal frame-work of hone.

Of all the tribes which have no cerebro-spinal
system, and which have an external skeleton of
“ horn,” instead of an internal one of hone, insects
form by far the largest portion. As a whole,
creatures of this kind of structure are now divided
into five great classes — the Annelida , including
leeches, worms, etc. ; the Crustacea , including
crabs, lobsters, etc. ; the Arachnida , containing

CHARACTERISTICS OF INSECTS.

31

spiders, scorpions, etc., etc. ; the Myria/pocla, con-
taining scolopendres, centipedes, etc. ; and, lastly,
Insects.

With the exception of the Annelids, these tribes
might all he included within the realm of Entomo-
logy— the lobster and spider sections having both
the well marked character of the insection, while
the Myriapods show a repetition of a similar
method of structure throughout the whole length of
their bodies, which are, in fact, formed of a series of
such intersections. There are, however, certain
characteristics, especially those connected with the
metamorphosis which place true insects in a very
distinct class.

All true insects, with a few insignificant ex-
ceptions, undergo, after coming from the egg, meta-
morphoses or changes analogous to those which, in
other classes of animal life, take place in the egg
state, or a corresponding epoch. This difference is
so striking, that Swammerdam, one of the most
illustrious anatomists and physiologists of any
age, founded his system of insect classification
entirely on the kind of metamorphosis to which
they were subject, almost without reference to the
anatomical structure ; and so strong was his con-
viction on this point, that he committed the ridi-

32

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

unions and obstinate error of classing frogs and
lizards, which are regularly vertebrated , along with
invertebrated insects, in consequence of the meta-
morphosis which these animals undergo, subsequent
to the egg stage, in the curious change from the
tadpole to the eventual form. But, notwithstanding
the frog difficulty, the positive metamorphosis may
be considered one of the chief characters of insects ;
especially one which distinguishes them from the
other classes of invertebrate animals.

Take the Crustacea , for instance ; they have no
metamorphosis — in the true sense of the term, as it
is applied to insects — but are endowed, on the other
hand, with a far more extended term of existence,
giving birth to several successive broods, while
insects never become parents but once.

The Arachnida, or Spider class of invertebrate
creatures, though having the insection strongly
marked, differ from true insects in having no antennce,
which in Crustacea are often remarkable ; and, in
common with these last, they do not perish like
insects after their first brood of young, but live to
give birth to several, which undergo no material
change or metamorphosis after they are hatched.

The Myriapods are also distinct from true
insects, inasmuch as they undergo no perfect trans-

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF INSECTS.

33

formation; tlie only change analogous to that of
metamorphosis being the appearance of additional
segments, which do not exist in their earliest stage ;
otherwise, they have from the first the form they
are destined to retain, and in the development of
which they grow like other classes of animals,
while true insects never grow after they have once
received their final forms.

In different classes of insects there are different
degrees of completeness of metamorphosis, which,
as I have said, once formed bases upon which it
was attempted to found a system of classification,
among which the following may be particularized : —
"emipterous insects, for instance, have the
ents of wings in their earliest stages, which
p themselves by degrees along with other
3S of form. This was considered a semi-com -
netamorphosis.

her classes of insects, as some Bees, Ants, and
dies, undergo a direct change of form from the
state, without being encased in one general
ike the chrysalis of the Moth, but eaclip art
separately encased in its new covering as it
loped, and becoming hardened by degrees,
finds of beetles are thus quite soft for some
ter they come forth in their perfected state.

D

34

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

This has been termed incomplete metamorphosis.
Butterflies and Moths undergo far more distinct
changes — the Caterpillar, from its birth to its full
growth, offering no apparent analogy with the
perfect form of the eventual Butterfly, while in
the dormant state; the metamorphosis of forms
takes place in one entire shell, and the new mem-
bers develop themselves, closely pressed to the body.
This was considered the complete metamorphosis.

This most complete kind of metamorphosis was
again divided into two tolerably distinct classes :
the one, in which the internal forms are more or
less distinctly indicated by the external irregulari-
ties of the chrysalis, and which was called obtecta ;
and the other, in which the chrysalis is an elongated
spheroid without any mark or indication of internal
parts, as in the chrysalides of Blies ; which last was
termed coarctata.

These were divisions and distinctions adopted
by Linnaeus, and more recently by Eabricius, hut
they are open to many objections. Latreille only
makes three distinctions, based on the appearance
of the insects in their different stages. In his first
class he places all such as come from the egg com-
plete, except in size; of which kind, according to
more recent classification, there are hut few ex-

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF INSECTS.

35

amples among true insects; in his second class,
those which are complete with the exception of
wings ; and in his third class, those which, after an
active stage of existence, go into a perfectly impas-
sive state, during which they take no food, and from
which, after a certain lapse of time, they come forth
in their perfected form.

We have learnt, by the discoveries made during
the attempts to class insects according to their
mode of transformation, that there is nothing so
mysterious as was once supposed in insect changes.
Since the discoveries of Swammerdam, indeed, and
those of Reaumur, Bonnet, and others, we no longer
imagine, as naturalists did up to that time, that
certain Elies spring into their larva form of life spon-
taneously, from decaying matter ; nor that the Gnat
issues in a similar manner into spontaneous life
from the slime of water acted on by the sun. We
can, therefore, no longer consider such changes so
astonishing as to deem them, as the alchemists did,
positive transmutations, analogous to those which
they sought to produce in metals, and of which they
thought those of insects typical examples. But, not-
withstanding the discoveries of science, and the
mysteries unravelled by the power of the micro-
scope, these changes still remain wonderful de-

36

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

monstrations of the extraordinary ways and powers
of Nature ; and we still preserve, wdien speaking of
them scientifically, the energetic term “ metamor-
phosis,” which expresses the idea of a sudden and
wonderful change, though we can no longer consider
such transformations in any other light than as a
series of developments, having direct analogy with
corresponding developments in other classes of
animals, however they may differ from them in
certain striking peculiarities.

CHAPTER IY.

OP THE EGGS OP INSECTS, AND THEIR NESTS.

^ »

AY INC, in the last Chapter, encleayoured '
to give a general idea of the leading cha-
gb racteristics of the class of creatures
X termed “insects,” and of the general
nature of the singular transformations
which they exhibit in the course of their
development from the egg to the complete
K state, it now becomes necessary, in order to
convey to the reader a clear understanding
of this part of the subject, to give a more definite
account of the four distinct stages of insect life,
namely, that of the egg, that of the larva or cater-
pillar, that of the chrysalis or pupa, and, lastly,
that of the perfect insect.

In this Chapter I shall only attempt to describe
the egg stage, which is in itself so curious that a much
larger space than I can here afford might he given
to the subject, without fear of fatiguing the reader,

38

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

or entering into anv of those minute technicalities

O e.

only suited for strictly scientific purposes.

The eggs of Lepidoptera , that is, of Butterflies
and Moths, are, perhaps, more likely to interest the
general collector than any other, and they are
sufficiently various in form and character to give a
fair general idea of those of all the other classes of
insects. But it will, nevertheless, he necessary
to allude also to those of the Neuroptera , Diptera ,
and the other entomological divisions. I shall,
however, give the first place to the eggs of Lepidop-
iera. These, though of very various kinds and
forms, as I have stated, are seldom of the shape to
which the Latin term ovum can he applied, since we
have made use of that term, in the word oval, to
express an egg-shaped object. Lew eggs of insects,
in fact, are of an oval form, and in most cases,
instead of being smooth like those of birds, with
which we are so much better acquainted, they are
intricately sculptured, as it were, with delicate
raised patterns which enrich the whole surface.
These patterns are generally, however, on a scale so
minute that the aid of a powerful microscope is re-
quired to distinguish them, and to enable the student
to appreciate their extraordinary beauty and regu-
larity, as described by Be Geer, Brunnicli, Sepp,

THE EGGS OF INSECTS.

39

our countrymen Kirby and Spence, and others, who,
in their works, have introduced exquisite engravings
of an immense variety of eggs of this class, magni-
fied so as to show their geometric sculpture and
endless variety of elegant devices with advantage.
The eggs of a pretty, delicate Moth, Geometra
Cratcegata , are more nearly in the usual egg form,
that of an elongated or oval spheroid, than most
others of the class ; hut they are entirely covered
with a very beautiful, though somewhat irregular,
honeycomb pattern.

The eggs of the Orange Moth, Geometra Pru-
naria, are what might be termed flask-shaped, and
perfectly smooth, with the exception of a series of
small raised circlets close together, which have the
appearance of a sealed aperture.

The eggs of one of our brown Meadow Butterflies,
of the genus Hipparchia , are nearly spherical,
having their surface varied with rows of minute
knobs, disposed like the marks of the segments of a
peeled orange, but much closer together.

Those of an insect of the same genus, H. Janira ,
the commonest of the Meadow Butterflies, are more
oval in form, but broad at the base, and getting
more pointed towards the apex. They are decorated
with raised longitudinal ribs, connected in the

40

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

lower portion by delicate horizontal marks, which
towards the top curve in the opposite direction,
and assume the effect of laminae laid one over the
other, forming a kind of scaly cap.

The eggs of the beautiful Red-underwing Moth,
Catocalci Nupta, present somewhat the appearance
of a small Echinus, being regularly ribbed from the
crown, which is rather depressed, and having
between the ribbings horizontal marks from one rib
to another. The eggs of the “ Lesser Tortoise-shell,”
one of our handsomest native Butterflies, are pump-
kin-shaped, that is to say, in the form of a long oval
spheroid, depressed at each end, and only marked
with simple longitudinal ribs, which are, however,
very strongly defined.

The eggs of other classes of insects differ
materially from those of the Lepidoptera ; many
of them presenting characteristics so singular, and
forms so strange that they would never be thought
to be eggs at all, had they not been proved to be so
by careful experiment.

The eggs of the Water Scorpion, for instance,
are curiously crowned with seven delicate spirets,
which give them the appearance of thistle seeds
rather than eggs ; and there are many other examples
of striking external analogy between the seeds of

THE EGGS OF INSECTS.

41

plants and the eggs of insects. Both are, indeed,
living germs, destined to be developed in a much
more closely analogous manner than is generally
supposed.

The pretty bright green insect, Chrysopa Verla,
with its transparent wings flushed with opaline
tinges, which is so commonly seen fluttering about
the shady walks of gardens in the twilight of
summer evenings, lays an egg of very peculiar
elliptic form, and provides for its security in a most
singular manner, to be described in another place.

The eggs of a common Dipterous insect resemble
a series of minute almond kernels, glued together
longitudinally and touching at the widest part ; and
those of Giilex Fipiens are shaped like a long slender
Greek amphora, the opening of which, in the form
of an enlarged rim, is quite clearly defined; and
an endless variety of forms, angular or spherical,
might be described did my space permit.

In colour, the eggs of insects are of all tones,
though more commonly of some shade of white.
Those of the Chrysopa Verla , however, are orange ;
and some are blue, a few are red or green, and
others, again, are of varied colours and markings.
Many, too, change their colour after they are first
laid, those of JEndromis Versicolor being at first

42

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

sulphur coloured, then green, then rose colour, and
becoming eventually black. The size of the eggs of
insects is, as I have noticed above, very various, and
not always corresponding to the size of the parent.
Those of some small parasitic insects, for instance,
are nearly as large as the parent itself, while
those of other classes of Butterflies are infinitely
smaller. The largest insect egg known is that of
a species of Ehasma, one of the singular tribe of crea-
tures popularly termed Stick-insects, having really
the appearance of a portion of a branch furnished
with long artificial legs. The egg in question is
described in the “ Linnsean Transactions”* as beinsr
as large as that of a Humming-bird, while those of
many species of Ephemera are smaller than the
finest grain of sand.

It has been remarked that the eggs destined to
become females are generally larger than those
containing the germs of males — a peculiarity which
is especially visible in those of Ants, as noticed by
Goulet ; while Reaumur asserts that it is the con-
trary with respect to the eggs of Bees.

In some cases the eggs of insects increase in size
after they are laid ; those of certain Ichneumons , for
instance, positively “ grow,” as do likewise those of

* Yol. iv. p. 18.

THE EGGS OF INSECTS.

43

Ants. It would seem that in these cases the embryo
has the power of absorbing oxygen through the
shell, which, being of an elastic nature, the creature
within is allowed to expand, and the egg, before it
is hatched, frequently attains to twice the size which
it was when first laid. The eggs of no other class of
animals exhibit anything similar to this curious
fact, excepting perhaps the spawn of fishes, the
growth of which is, however, not of a strictly
analogous character.

The shells of some insect eggs are extremely
thick and hard, while others are composed of a
mere film. Some of the harder kinds can scarcely
he crushed with a knife ; such, for instance, as those
intended to brave the inclemency of our winters,
while the more delicate are such as are destined to
be quickly hatched. These, however, are often so
delicate, that without the aid of different kinds of
protection afforded by the parent, they would dry
up and perish in the course of a single bright sum-
mer morning. It may he noted here that there is
no calcareous substance contained in the egg-shells
of insects similar to that which forms the basis of
those of birds.

The number of eggs laid by a single jiarent
varies to a most extraordinary degree, as a very few

44

TIIE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

examples will be sufficient to prove. One of our
common Eield Elies, the Musca Meridionalis , is said
by Reaumur to lay only two eggs ; some other
Elies, six or eight ; while many species of the Ely
family lay thirty or forty, or more. The Moth of
the Silk-worm lays about five hundred ; the hand-
some Moth, Cossus lAgniperda, about one thousand ;
the Common Wasp, thirty thousand ; and the Queen
Bee even a greater number, varying from forty to
fifty thousand in a season.

Another insect, Termes Fatalis, lays at the rate
of sixty eggs per minute, or three thousand six
hundred per hour, making eighty-six thousand four
hundred per day, and per year at the rate of above
two hundred millions. She does not continue at
that rate, yet no greater example of fecundity exists.
Insects, in fact, increase so fast, that Linnaeus was
perfectly right when he asserted that three Elies
would consume the carcass of a horse sooner than
a lion ; which is easily conceived when we consider
the rapidity with which they would deposit suc-
cessive broods of their voracious larvae upon the
tempting carrion.

It is very interesting to observe the different
methods pursued by different insects in placing
their eggs as they are laid, some laying them in

THE EGGS OF INSECTS.

45

pairs ; others in irregular quantities ; others singly ;
others in large patches or symmetrical figures ; and
in nearly all cases they are attached to the sub-
stances upon which they are deposited, by means of a
peculiar secretion with which the parent is furnished
for that purpose.

As an instance of the beautiful symmetry with
which insect eggs are placed side by side in regular
succession by instinct of the parent, those of the
Great White Butterfly, J^ieris JBrassicce, may he
instanced, as they often form white patches on cab-
bage leaves at a certain season, which on exami-
nation look exactly like a beautiful piece of lace-
work, with each minute opening filled by a globule
of some semi-transparent substance, so exquisite is
the regularity with which they have been deposited.
The well-known Moth, Clisiocamva Neustria , lays
her eggs with equally beautiful regularity, though
in a different position. They are deposited in
the autumn, and, consequently, having to pass
the winter before they are hatched, a wonderful
instinct teaches the Moth not to place them upon
the leaves of plants, with which they would fall and
he destroyed, hut on the branches , round which they
form those graceful little bracelets of minute
heads which every lover of a garden must often

46

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

have noticed. It is to be feared that in our Viva-
rium we shall not he able to witness the fabrication
of these little bracelets of miniature eggs, and note
the mode in which they are so successfully woven
round the branch selected for the purpose; for
Reaumur, with all his patient perseverance, tells us
that he could never induce the Clisiocampa Neustrici,
when in a state of captivity, to deposit her eggs in
this manner. In confinement she seemed to lose
her beautiful instinct, and dropped her eggs care-
lessly in any part of the rearing- cage, although
every convenience and temptation, as it was thought,
had been provided to induce her to display her skill
in bracelet-making. With the superior arrange-
ments of the glass Vivarium over the rude cages of
Reaumur, our modern students may perhaps he
more successful.

One of the most curious methods is that followed
by the pretty insect, Chrysopa Per la, previously
alluded to, whose small, elliptic, orange-coloured
eggs are placed, like little clubs, at the top of a
long slender hair attached to a leaf. In this posi-
tion a group of the eggs of Chrysopa Perla has
the appearance of a small tuft of some blossoming
moss, or it might be taken, by a stretch of fancy,
for a bunch of the clubbed antennae of conquered

THE EGGS OF INSECTS.

47

Butterflies, reared as a trophy by some cruel enemy
of the tribe, just as a Red Indian of the last century
displayed his captured scalps. When the eggs, thus
stilted on their slender pinnacles, are hatched, the
empty shells still remain at the end of the filaments,
in which state they still more strongly resemble
some slender kind of cup-moss, for which many of
our old herbalists may easily have mistaken them.

In many cases we are not able to follow the
intentions of Nature in her apparent eccentricities
and curious arrangements of this kind, hut in the
present instance they are sufficiently obvious. The
arrangement has been evidently resorted to in order
to place the eggs out of the reach of insects infest-
ing the leaves of the plant on which they are placed,
and which would otherwise have preyed upon them.
The contrivance hears a strong analogy to that
adopted by some tropical birds to protect their nests
from the depredations of serpents likely to prey upon
their eggs, which consists in weaving together long
slender fibres, by means of which the nest is sus-
pended at a considerable distance below some far
stretching branch, and quite out of the reach of the
wily enemy.

Some insect eggs, instead of being attached to
the ends of long filaments for safety, have several

48

TIIE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

filaments attached to their own point, which, like
the crest described on those of the Water Scorpion,
serve like an array of lances to keep off marauding in-
truders. Among other methods adopted by different
insects for protecting their eggs, I may notice that
of a Moth of the Bombyx family, Liparis Salicis,
which covers its ova with a protective tissue of a
cottony and yet somewhat friable nature, which is
perfectly waterproof, and effectually conceals them
against injury from wet in very rainy seasons, and
from accidents of many other kinds.

Some insects resort to still more decisive mea-
sures for the protection of their eggs, actually carving
a recess in a branch in which to deposit them, as in
the case of the Hylostoma Resect, for instance, which
insect possesses the power of making an incision in a
young shoot by means of a saw-like instrument, near
the tail, with which it is furnished, and in the inci-
sion thus made it deposits its eggs, covering them
immediately with a greenish fluid, which it emits
from the mouth, and which rapidly hardens on
exposure to the air.

The female of Jtenchites Bacchus , an insect
infesting the vine, makes preparations for deposit-
ing her eggs by forming a kind of nest, which she
does by rolling up a portion of some well-selected

THE EGGS OE INSECTS.

49

leaf, thus producing a suitable recess, in which
the eggs are placed with comparative security, both
as regards the accident of weather and the attacks
of other insects.

This little insect is, however, by far surpassed in
the skill displayed in her maternal cares by some
kinds of Butterflies, which may he said to build a
positive nest for their eggs, precisely similar to that
constructed by birds, except that it is not used for
the purpose of incubation, the eggs being abandoned
so soon as properly protected in the manner which
instinct has suggested to the parent. The interior
of this nest is formed hv several layers of soft down,
which the female plucks from her own body, and
upon this delicate couch the eggs are deposited, and
then protected by an elegant covering of the same
material, often arranged with very curious intricacy.
In some cases this covering is disposed in such a
manner that each silken hair remains erect, the
nest thus enclosed having the appearance of a small
patch of the softest and most downy fur. Some-
times, when the eggs are laid spirally round a
branch, this kind of covering naturally follows their
course, and it then produces a very beautiful ap-
pearance, which it would sorely puzzle a tyro in
entomology to account for, as it often assumes the

E

50

TIIE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

appearance of a minute bottle-brush, and at other
times that of a miniature Pox’s-tail. By the time
this final protection to the eggs is completed, the
body of the devoted parent, as may be imagined, is
almost entirely denuded of its beautiful silky cloth-
ing'; but she has fortunately no further occasion for
it, as having thus completed the last act of her brief
existence, she almost immediately expires.

Some species of Humble Bees, as Bombus Mus-
corum , cover their nests with a roof of moss ; and
Huber, in a paper published in the “ Linnoean
Transactions,” has described a pair of these insects
which contrived their nest under a bell-glass, and
substituted small pieces of cloth when moss was no
longer to be procured. It is thus evident that
many of the solitary nest-building Bees might be
so domesticated in a Vivarium as to exhibit under
the eye all the processes pursued in their ingenious
architecture. If a pair of “ Poppy Bees,” a species
which line their nest with petals of the crimson
poppy as a couch for the future young, could be
induced to exhibit their skill in a state of confine-
ment, the spectacle would be very gratifying.

Bees are, in fact, among the most ingenious of
insect nest-builders, the beautiful honeycomb being
simply a series of nests, or one vast nest divided into

THE EGGS OF INSECTS.

51

separate compartments, in eacli of which an egg is
to be deposited, and furnished with a supply of
honey to serve it as food in its inactive larva state.
But the habits of the Honey Bee are too well known
to need description here, a glass hive having long
since been invented as a kind of insect Vivarium, in
which the habits of one of the most interesting of
insects may he conveniently observed.

Some kinds of Blcittci deposit their eggs in a
kind of pouch, which completely protects them from
all ordinary kinds of attack. This pouch is very
curious, having somewhat the appearance of a small,
shallow, black leather bag, well filled, and then
tightly sewn up across the top. The first time I
found this curious object I was quite unable, as an
entomological tyro, to ascertain the nature of my
discovery, and was indebted to my lamented friend,
the late Miss J. Loudon, for the explanation of
its true character.

Not only are many kinds of insects most careful, as
I have shown, in protecting their eggs from the in-
clemency of the weather, from accidental injury, or
from the attacks of enemies, whose prey they might
become without such protection ; hut they also
exercise as careful a foresight in placing them
where the young larvae, on hatching, are sure to

52

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

find a plentiful provision of their destined food ;
and by the position in which they place the eggs,
they render the exit of the larva as convenient as
possible for the objects which it will immediately
have in view.

The eggs of the Lady -bird and Syr pirns tribes,
for instance, are invariably laid among a colony of
plump Aphides, which are destined to become their
future food, and of which they will very quickly
clear a rose-tree so infested. The wise gardener
knows this fact perfectly well, though perhaps no
entomologist, and never destroys the larvae of the
Lady-bird or Syrplius , whom he recognizes as his
best friend.

The Lr agon-fly, with the assistance of her
elegant tail, deposits her eggs on the stem of some
water plant at some distance below the surface, in
order that the larvae may come into active existence
in the element which is to form the region of the
first phase of their changeful career. Sometimes,
indeed, the parent Dragon-fly, in her anxiety to make
quite sure that her eggs are placed at a sufficient
depth to be secure against the chance of any slight
sinking of the water, dives bodily beneath the
surface, regardless of the gossamer delicacy of her
beautiful wings, which, during the performance of

THE EGGS OF INSECTS.

53

this act of maternal devotion, seem proof against
injury by immersion in the water, which, at another
time, would probably destroy them, or, at all events,
render them unlit for flight.

Some hinds of Grasshoppers, in an analogous
manner, by means of a similar but stronger tail-like
appendage, deposit their eggs at some depth in the
earth, where their larvae are destined to pass the
first portion of their development.

A family of Elies, known as Ichneumons, by
means of a sharp, lance-like instrument with which
they are furnished, actually deposit their eggs in
the bodies of certain Caterpillars, whose skin they
pierce for this purpose, and whose flesh is to serve
as the food of the young Ichneumons, who take
care not to destroy any vital part of the Caterpillar,
which is to continue to exist, and keep making flesh
for them to consume. He perishes, however, at
last ; and so, vast numbers of certain species are
destroyed, which would otherwise very soon become
a perfect pest to our gardens.

The “ growth” of the eggs of Ichneumons has
been observed, and also of Cvnips, as well as the
eggs of Ants, and others previously named ; and it
should be noted here that insects in the egg, as well
as in the Caterpillar state, are subject to the attacks

54

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

of the Ichneumon tribe. This we learn from Vallis-
nieri, who minutely describes a small Ichneumon,
named I. Ovulum (the Egg Ichneumon), which
provides for its own young in this way. He also
discovered subsequently that several other kinds of
Ichneumons attack insect eggs, having had an
opportunity of observing several individuals of one
species come from eggs of Saturnia Carpini , the
small Emperor Moth, in the shells of which he
found two holes — one, no doubt, pierced for the
deposition of the Ichneumon’s eggs ; the other, that
by which the perfect Ichneumon escaped.

Some insects are furnished with the means of
piercing the young shells of fruit-stones and nuts,
for the purpose of depositing an egg within them.
In these cases the egg is generally solitary, as
the supply of food is limited to one kernel — the
whole of which is evidently intended by the parent
of the egg for the banquet of its one singly placed
offspring.

The eggs of insects whose larvae feed upon
particular plants are never laid upon any other —
even the various kinds of grasses being discriminated
with the greatest nicety, while the eggs of those
whose larvae are general feeders are placed indis-
criminately, on any convenient tree or plant.

THE EGGS OF INSECTS.

55

In some cases the food for the young has to he
positively provided, and even placed in a proper
situation by the parents ; and this they never fail to
effect with the greatest completeness, whatever may
he the cost of labour necessary to effect the arrange-
ments ; and although they never live to see the happy
results of their contrivance, as the eggs are not
hatched till after they have perished, which they
invariably do when they have performed that last
and most important act of their existence — the safe
deposit of the eggs which are to continue their
species. The insect here referred to is the handsome
Bed-spotted Beetle, known as the Burying Beetle,
which, when the time for depositing the eggs arrives,
seeks the dead body of some small animal, which,
when found, is buried with great labour ; and the
eggs are then deposited in the substance which
is destined to form their food when hatched. Thus,
not only is the proper food provided, but it is placed
in a fitting situation for the young larvae, which in
their first stage are earth grubs, and consequently
subterranean feeders. The kind of Beetles described
are contented with the bodies of small animals that
have died a natural death ; but other species kill
insects for the express purpose of placing them in a
subterranean larder, to become the food of their

56

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

progeny as soon as the eggs placed near tlie prey are
hatched ; and the Mason Wasp builds up the bodies
of Caterpillars in the structure in which its larvae
are to come forth, taking care to select such as are
just about to change, and which are consequently
unlikely to attempt escape, being in a semi- dor-
mant state, in which they remain as nice, fresh, live
food for the carnivorous young as soon as they are
hatched. The Spider Wasp pursues a similar
method in providing a feast of spiders for its ex-
pected young— just stinging the victims sufficiently
to prevent any attempt to escape, hut not to kill them.

One of the most beautiful examples of the
arrangement of the eggs, with a view to their pre-
servation, and to the convenience of the exit of the
future larvae in a fitting position to commence
their future existence, is, perhaps, that afforded
by the instinct of the Gnat. Reaumur closely
observed the female in the act of constructing her
fairy raft of eggs, which she effected by gluing
them together as they were laid, while they were
supported and put into the requisite form by means
of the long hind-legs, which, being crossed for the
purpose, afforded the moulding shape for the pointed
end of the little boat ; for in that form the structure
is made. In this process, the top ol the eggs is

THE EGGS OF INSECTS.

57

placed downwards, and the narrow end upwards.
The secretion used to cement them together is of an
oily nature, repellant to water, so that even if the
little boat should become accidentally filled, the
water quickly retires, as from the feathers of aquatic
birds, and the little vessel floats securely till the
time for the larvae to escape from their shells arrives.
They then issue from the lower part of the egg,
and thus at once plunge into the element which is to
he their home during the first portion of their active
existence.

The eggs of insects may be said to he invariably
hatched without the aid of the warmth or any other
influence of the parent, being generally deserted
after due precaution to protect them from accidental
destruction has been taken. A few rare instances,
however, are cited by naturalists, in which insects
are said not only to practice incubation, like birds,
hut even to lead their brood about as a hen does her
chickens. This is related of the little obscure insect
JBentamata Grisect , of the habits of which De Geer
gives a very interesting account. As I have stated
above, however, the eggs of insects in general may
he said to he hatched without the assistance of the
parent, and in most cases without any reference to
the temperature, as the larva emerges from its egg-

58

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

shell at the destined time, regardless of surrounding
cold or heat. Many experiments have been made
with the view to accelerate the hatching of insect
eggs by the stimulus of heat, and to retard them by
the application of intense cold ; hut, except in a very
few cases, little or no effect was produced — period-
icity, rather than any kind of atmospheric in-
fluence, being the governing power which regulates
the hatching time. In some few instances, however,
as stated, the time can be accelerated by warmth —
as with Silk -worms, for example — which is, perhaps,
owing to their existence in Europe being altoge-
ther artificial, and their instincts being more or less
thwarted and confused in all their stages. It has been
found much more difficult, and in many cases im-
possible, to retard the period of hatching by any
degree of cold ; and certain eggs destined to hatch
in June, for instance, will, according to Brahm,
hatch at that time even in an ice-house.

Eggs will, in fact, hear an extraordinary degree
of either heat or cold without injury, and without
being in the slightest degree influenced by its appli-
cation, but the absence of air destroys their vitality
very quickly. Spalanchini found that the vital
principle was destroyed in all those which he sub-
mitted to the effect of perfect vacuum in an air-pump.

THE EGGS OF INSECTS.

59

It is evident, therefore, that they absorb oxygen ;
and the mode in which this is effected has led to
many speculations, which it would occupy too much
space to describe here. It may be remarked, how-
ever, en passant , as a curious fact, that the eggs are
endowed with a power of breathing, even though it
he by some very simple process of absorption, which
hears a strong analogy to that enjoyed by the larva
after its escape from the shell ; which thus establishes
another link in the progress of their metamorphosis,
showing still more clearly that each successive state
is hut a development of the former, and not an
arbitrary change, as was once thought.

The natural time which elapses between the
time of laying and hatching is very various. In
Bees it is only three days, as ascertained by more
careful and continual observations than have ever
been applied to any other class of insects. These
observations commenced at a very early period — for
the ancients knew, comparatively speaking, almost
as much about Bees as we do — in consequence of the
valuable instinct of these insects in collecting
honey, and the ease with which they may be domes-
ticated, and the fruits of their industry taken from
them to supply the cravings of human luxury. The
eggs of Lady-birds are hatched in five or six days ;

60

THE BUTTEKFLY VIVARIUM.

those of Grasshoppers, and their tribe generally,
require a month. Those of Clisiocampa Neustria ,
and many other Moths, whose eggs are laid in the
autumn, are not hatched in less than nine months,
while a spring brood of the same insect probably
comes forth in as many days. This is the case with
Butterflies’ eggs also, the first brood being hatched
in a few weeks, the second remaining in the egg
during the winter.

Having described the leading features of our
present knowledge respecting the insect egg till the
period of hatching, we must now see how the
embryo Caterpillar escapes from his miniature
prison.

The mode of exit of the larva from the egg-shell
is very different in different kinds. In general the
little larva gnaws his way out at the part nearest
the head, much as a chicken at the proper time pecks
at the shell of its prison till it forces an exit.
This gnawing process often costs the embryo Cater-
pillar some hours of labour, especially when the shell
is thick, as in the case of the Clisiocampa Neus-
tria. Some shells, however, are furnished with a
regularly hinged lid, which the larva has only to lift
in order to effect his escape. In some cases the lid
is lifted by a very complicated spring and balance

THE EGGS OF INSECTS.

61

apparatus, which would he very difficult to explain,
although the insect appears to understand it per-
fectly, never making the mistake of pulling the
wrong string. Others, intended to go through an
aquatic course of existence in their first stage, like
those of the Gnat, escape, as I have described,
through the lower end of the egg, at once into the
water. There would he no limit to describing all
the modes in which larvae are ushered into their first
stage of active life ; hut sufficient has been related
to show the attractive interest of this subject ; and
now, having devoted more space than I intended to
the egg-period of insect life, I must proceed at once,
in the next Chapter, to the description of the Cater-
pillar, or larva stage, from the time of its escape from
the egg-shell to that of its full growth and prepa-
ration for the pupa state.

CHAPTER Y.

OF THE CATERPILLAR, AND OTHER KINDS OF LARViE
— OF THE DERIVATION OF THEIR POPULAR AND
SCIENTIFIC NAMES — AND OF THEIR STRUCTURE,
HABITS, INSTINCTS, DEVASTATIONS, ETC.

[TIE Caterpillars of Butterflies and Moths,
_ even of the most common species, are
so conspicuous and beautiful that
C they cannot fail to have been observed
and admired even in the earliest times.
It would he very interesting to know by
what names they were distinguished in
some of the primitive dialects of our race ;

for in the early languages the names of natural
objects were almost always exceedingly expressive of
the nature of the object itself. Such early traces of
popular entomological nomenclature are, however,
lost to us; but the Greek and Roman names of
the Caterpillar, Volvex and W™ (Kampe), are
still known, and both appear to be descriptive of its
kind of action when in motion, from the peculiar

ON LARViE.

63

play of its segmental structure. Another Latin
term for the Caterpillar, Eruca, may have its origin
in the Greek verb Epvxco (Eruco), to contain , in
allusion to the fact, even then well known, that it
contained the germ of some kind of winged crea-
ture, very different in appearance to itself. Our
own popular name “ Caterpillar” is doubtless a
highly descriptive word, though its origin has not
hitherto been very distinctly traced. When, how-
ever, we find that in the earlier stages of our lan-
guage cates or cate was a common term for pro-
visions or delicacies of any kind, and that the verb
to pill was in common use as one of the derivatives
of the Erench verb piller, from which we have still
in use pillage, pilfer, etc., it is not difficult to trace
an approximate derivation of the name. We have
only to imagine the term cate applied to vegetable
provision, and we at once get the term Cate-piller,
naturally euphonized as Caterpillar ; that is to say,
cc garden robber” or C£ plant destroyer.”

Linnseus, however, when seeking a general term
applicable to that stage in insect development which
immediately follows the egg period, and which in
Butterflies and Moths we term Caterpillar, seems
to have been influenced by an idea similar to that
which I have supposed to he contained in the Latin

G4

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

name JEruca. But lie carried that view still further,
and conceiving that the Caterpillar not only con-
tained another form, hut that it was in fact a dis-
guised or masked creature, whose disguises were used
to conceal a perfect insect, he gave it the name of
larva , from the Latin word larva , a mask. And
when the structure of a Caterpillar is carefully
considered, the kind of disguise by means of which
it enfolds and conceals from us the form of a perfect
insect, is shown to he of a nature which makes the
name thus conferred by Linnaeus remarkably feli-
citous. The smooth, orbless lobes of the head, for
instance, positively form a mask enclosing the many
facetted eyes and conspicuous antennae of the per-
fect insect, while the six or more skins with which
the body is enclosed are, with their fantastic mark-
ings or silken tassels, just so many masquerading
dresses, which completely conceal the form of the
perfect insect which lies beneath their folds, till
these disguising robes are shed in due succession.

When a Caterpillar is about to undergo its
change to the pupa or chrysalis stage, a moderately
careful dissection would enable the anatomist to
discover the wings of the perfect insect in an already
distinct form ; and, even in the earlier stages,
Swammerdam succeeded in detecting not only the

ON LARYjE.

65

wings, but also the antennae, the legs, the tliorax,
the abdomen, and indeed all the members of the
perfect insect. From the semi-fluid state of these
embryo members of the imago contained within the
Caterpillar, the great entomological anatomist had
found at first great difficulty in detecting them,
though his theory convinced him of their existence.
But, considering that the fluids of an egg become
solidified by being placed for a time in boiling
water, he made a similar experiment upon the
analogous substances of the Caterpillar, which
naturally produced a similar result; and in that
state he was enabled to demonstrate not only the
co-existence from the birth of all the skins which
are to be shed one after another, till the larva
attains its full growth, but also of all the parts
of the perfect insect enclosed within them. He
was enabled to perform some of his experiments
of this kind by placing the Caterpillar for a few
days in pure alcohol, which he found to produce
the same effect as boiling water, though not so
quickly.

In these investigations the wings were found
to he spirally folded, the antennae and proboscis
curiously packed against the inner front of the
head, and the legs, though so different in form,

E

6G

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

were encased in the six pectoral legs of the Cater-
pillar. The skin and other external portions of the
Caterpillar are therefore little more than a kind of
shell, and tke Caterpillar, in fact, a “ walking egg.”
It is also a walking egg which has the still
more nnnsnal faculty of eating ; not merely taking
in nourishment by absorption, as some eggs are
known to do, but by means of a positive mouth and
mandibles of a formidable description; which, in
the case of the Caterpillars of Butterflies, form a
striking contrast with the delicate feeding-trunk
of the perfect creature. But it is time to consider
Caterpillars of various kinds in some detail, and
with reference to the form and structure of their
various members, as well as the different functions
of those members, which will, with the instincts of
their possessors, afford opportunities for much
curious and interesting observation.

In these investigations the general term larva
will be more convenient than that of Caterpillar, as
applying to the second stage of all classes of insects,
especially as that popular term is, as I have stated
before, generally confined to the larvae of Butterflies
and Moths. The popular name, “ Grubs,” by which
the larvae of the Beetle section of the insect family are
distinguished, is exceedingly expressive of their mode

ON LARViE.

67

of life, which is generally passed in the earth. But
for the races of aquatic larvae, whose appear-
ance and habits are much less known, we have no
convenient popular name at all. The generic term
larvae, therefore, as applicable to all classes, will be
the only one I shall use in the remainder of this
Chapter.

The larvae of insects, on first escaping from the
egg, are of three kinds : first, such as are nearly of
their full size when first hatched ; that is to say, that
do not grow materially in the larva stage, and have
pretty nearly the same form as in their perfect state.

The second class are also of nearly their full size
when first hatched, and always perfect in general
form, with the exception of the wings, which are
developed by degrees.

The third class contains those larvae which,
when first hatched, are of very minute size, in pro-
portion to that which they are destined to attain,
and which exhibit in their larva state little or no
resemblance to the form of the perfect insect. To
this class belong most insects which undergo what
has been termed the perfect metamorphosis.

Larvae may be said to be of no sex, though, as
in the case of the eggs of birds, a certain
number are so organized as to become males and

68

TIIE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

tlie others females. Bat it is somewhat extra-
ordinary that in the cases where the male and
female insect, in their perfect state, are of strikingly
different forms — the female, for instance, being a
creeping creature, perfectly apterous or wingless,
and with a heavy, cumbrous body, while the male
is light in form, and provided with broad and richly-
tinted wings — even in such cases, no appreciable
difference is discernible in the larva state.

It may he stated here that several attempts have
been made to class Caterpillars in a more detailed
and closely defined manner than that suggested by
the three classes just named. Mr. Macleay, for
instance, in his “ Horse Entomologicae,” lias sought
to create homogeneous groups and families founded
on the resemblance of certain larvae to the forms
exhibited by other classes of animal life, terming
those “ cliilognatiform,” for instance, which more or
less resemble the Centipede family. This system
has been partly followed by Messrs. Kirby and
Spence in their valuable “ Introduction to Ento-
mology,” hut it seems to me that, except as far as
a convenient set of terms is concerned, such a
system of classification will he useless ; as the main
classification of insects must always he that founded
on their perfect forms, and not on peculiarities

OX LARViE.

69

existing only in the larva state. M. Lacordaire,
the author of several volumes of the “ Suites a
Buff on,” appears to be of this opinion, stating,
moreover, that for any detailed classification of
larvae we have not at present sufficient materials ;
the larvae even of European insects being as yet but
imperfectly known, excepting perhaps as regards
those of Moths and Butterflies ; while of those of
exotic insects we know comparatively nothing.
There is, indeed, a field of entomological research
still open as regards the detection of the forms and
habits of exotic larvae, which may lead to very
brilliant discoveries, and the most valuable results as
regards the general principles of classification in
that branch of natural science.

The larvae of the first division, in the kind of
general classification which I have adopted, can
hardly be considered larvae at all, in the true ac-
ceptance of the term, in so far as that term expresses
a masked stage of existence, for, with the exception
of their external covering becoming more firm, and
in some instances subject to a change of colour,
they do not present any material difference of aspect
to that which they present in their perfect state. They
are therefore not strictly larvae, but only insects in
a stage of development closely analogous to that of

70

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

true larvae. The larvae of the second class referred
to, generally belonging to the great insect divi-
sions termed Hemiptera and Orthoptera , are also
of nearly the same form when horn as that which
they are eventually destined to wear, with the ex-
ception of the wings, which at each casting of the
skin appear in a more advanced state. These have
been called semi- or half-larvae, as not being en-
tirely different from their eventual form, and as
not having the worm-like character which generally
distinguishes a true larva. They are also dis-
tinguished by the gradual change by means of
which they arrive at perfection, without any sudden
and remarkable change, or metamorphosis. In this
class it is very easy to discover the future form of
the Cricket or Grasshopper, and other insects, even
in its earliest larva stages, though some undergo
very considerable change.

The larvae of the third class, composed in general
of those of Beetles, Butterflies, and Moths, and
perhaps some Neuroptera , do not in any case, in their
appearance in that state, suggest the nature of the
form which they are destined eventually to develop.
There are, however, exceptions in this respect even
among the well-defined larvae of Butterflies and
Moths ; for instance, in that of a small species of

ON LARViE.

71

Moth of the genus Psyche, the female still retains,
after the last change, nearly the same appearance
as it did in the larva state. The Staphy tides, a
class of Beetles, have also the peculiarity, very rare
in their order, of presenting nearly the same ap-
pearance in the larva as in the perfect state.

Coleopterous larvae have been popularly termed
Grubs, as I have said, and those of Lepidoptera,
Caterpillars ; while a class very closely allied to
these last have been termed “ False Caterpillars.”
These are the larvae of some divisions of the order
Hymenoptera (or Clear Wings) — of the Saw-flies,
for instance.

Larvae, with the exception of the head and pec-
toral feet, which are generally of a horny nature,
are almost invariably of a softer character than
perfect insects. In the Staphylides, however, the
first three segments, which represent the trunk of
the perfect insect, are horny. The larvae of the
Water Beetles have horny plates protecting the
first nine segments ; and in some few instances even
the skin of the true Caterpillar, generally so velvety
in its texture, is entirely of a crisp, horny nature,
as in the larva of Vanessa PoVychlorus, the beautiful
Elm Tortoise-shell Butterfly. A few of the larvae
of Beetles are also entirely horny in- this manner,

72

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

especially those of some exotic kinds destined to
live under the bark of trees, the pressure of which
they are enabled to resist by this defence. The larva
of our native Moth, the Cossus Ligniperda , has a
horny clothing of similar character, which protects
it while eating its way through the trunks of trees.
These characteristics are, however, rare.

Most larvae are opaque, though some, even among
those of the Lepidoptera, are nearly transparent ;
and the body of a water larva, that of Tipula Cry 8-
tallina , is positively as clear as glass, insomuch that
it is scarcely distinguishable from the element in
which it lives.

The segmental divisions of the body are com-
mon to classes of larvae in general, all the various
kinds having their bodies more or less distinctly
marked transversely by the joints of these segments
or divisions. In some of the earth larvae, and
others of the Grub class, however, the wrinkles of
the soft skin conceal the marks of these articu-
lations, which are generally twelve in number, ex-
clusive of the head. These segments are individually
of much larger proportion in some species than in
others, as the form of the larva exhibits a long and
slender, or robust and compact form. The general
form of larvae is cylindrical, though some are much

ON LARYjE.

73

flatter than others, as in many of the Curculionidce
among Beetles, and the onisciform or Wood Louse-
shaped larvae among Butterflies. Some are large at
the head and tapering to the tail, as in those of the
Water Beetle ; while the most marked character of
those of Butterflies and Moths is, that they are of
the same thickness from end to end, terminating
abruptly at the tail as well as the head, no neck
being visible ; except in rare instances, as in the
larvae of Bieris Brcissicce , for instance, where some-
thing like a short neck may he observed when the
head is stretched forward. Some few are convex
above and flat beneath, and a few others are of such
anomalous forms, like that of the “ Lobster-moth,”
so named from the appearance of its Caterpillar,
that it is not easy to define or classify them ; the
Caterpillar, for instance, of a Lepidopterous insect
( Adolius Acantliea ) being so curiously decorated by
unusual looking spinose excrescences, beautifully
feathered, as to present almost the appearance of
a Star-fisli.

The Head, in nearly all kinds of larvae, is, as I
have said, of a horny nature. It is indeed neces-
sarily so, in order to afford a bearing for the for-
midable mandibles, and give them the necessary
leverage required for cutting through tough leaves

74

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

and other similar substances, which form their food,
while the other parts of the body are soft, to en-
able them to bend to the forms of the foliage or
branches to which they adhere. In the larvae of
Dipt era, however, which are almost invariably aqua-
tic, and take liquid food, great strength in the frame
of the head becomes unnecessary, and it is found in
most instances to be only membranous. In some
Dipterous larvae the head is indeed elastic, and can
be put in any form which the position of the insect
while feeding may require. Some of the Beetle
larvae have the power of withdrawing the head
nearly within the first segment of the trunk ; and
that of a small Gnat, Leminobea Replicata, has the
power of drawing in its head so completely that it
has in that state quite the appearance of a headless
body. In some Caterpillars the diameter of the
head is the same as the body ; in a few cases it is
larger, but in the greater number somewhat smaller.

The head in the larvae of Lepidopterous insects
is generally composed of two lobes, round at the
top, and dividing as they descend so as to leave a
triangle, within which are arranged the mandibles
and other features of the eating apparatus. In some
instances, however, as in the case of the Caterpillar
of the Purple Emperor, and a few others, the lobes,

ON LARVJE.

75

instead of being round at tlie top, ascend in two
remarkable points.

In many exotic species the head of the larva is
armed with spines of different kinds, which give
the creature a very formidable appearance. Madame
Merian, in her “ Insects of Surinam,” has engraved
some extraordinary forms of this kind. The Cater-
pillar of Morpho Menelaus , one of the most splendid
Butterflies known, is very remarkable in this parti-
cular ; the lobes of the head not only ascending like
those of the Purple Emperor, but acuminating into
positive horns. The larva of Brassolis Ccissice has
three firm spines attached to its head, that of Beri-
dromia Amphinome a crown of eight spines, and
that of Morpho Teucer seven rays or spines. Such
appendages, though rare upon the head, are not
infrequent upon the first segments, as in the case
of the larva of Bhalcena Begia, in our Plate VIII.,
the effect of which is as though they issued from
the head itself. In common British species similar
spines are found on that and other parts of the
body, to be spoken of when describing some of our
British Butterflies and their larvse.

The Eyes of larva) are generally very minute,
and in some cases they are absent altogether, as in
the Lamecorn and Longicorn groups of Cole opt era.

76

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM,

and in Dipt era , in nearly all cases where the head is
only of a membranous texture. In Coleoplera ,
eyes are generally found to exist among the carni-
vorous and herbivorous feeders, and in Di/pt era
among the Gnat classes. Some larvae of Hymeno-
ptera and Lepidoptera , that is, of the clear- winged,
and scale-winged families, composed respectively of
the Bee tribe, and of Butterflies and Moths, are
also without eyes ; but most of the Lepidopterous
larvae are well provided with these organs.

In a few of the water larvae the eyes are nume-
rously facetted like those of the perfect insect, as in
the larvae of the Dragon-fly; hut, with these excep-
tions, the eyes of larvae are generally simple, and
consist of very small globules, which in many cases
are only visible with the assistance of the microscope.

The number of eyes is variable. In the Tele-
phoroides , a class of Beetles, and in some of the
Saw-flies, the larvae have hut one eye ; those
of the Cassida, another family of Beetles, have
three; the larvae of another set of Beetles, the
Staphy tides, have four; and some Coleopterous
larvae have five or six. When there are several
eyes, they sometimes differ very conspicuously in
size, and also in other respects, the smallest having
neither pupil nor iris. In the larvae of Lepido-

ON LARVAE.

77

ptera the eyes are commonly six in number, and no
instances are known in which that number is ex-
ceeded. The disposition of the eyes varies consi-
derably, but they are generally arranged in a circle.

The Antennae, or horns, as they are vulgarly
called, which form so conspicuous a feature in per-
fect insects, especially Butterflies and Moths, and
many of the Beetle tribes, are far less prominent in
the larva ; still, rudimentally, or in a less noticeable
form, they are almost always present, and are gene-
rally situated near the base of the mandibles. In
Neuroptera indeed, that is, the Dragon-fly tribe, they
closely resemble those of the perfect insect; but in
most other orders this is by no means the case.
Sometimes they are so minute as not to be percep-
tible without the assistance of the microscope ; but
it would seem, as before stated, that they are never
entirely absent, as that accurate observer, Macleay,
discovered them in many cases where they were
supposed not to exist ; in fact, in every larva which
he examined with a view to their detection.

The Caterpillars of Lepidoptera , however, ex-
hibit them on a very minute scale compared with
the prominent dimensions of those of the perfect
insect ; yet there are some few cases in which this
rule is reversed, as in those of some of the JEphe-

78

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

merides, in wliicli the antennae of the larvae are as
conspicuous in the preparatory as in the perfect form.

The antennae of larvae have sometimes a pecu-
liarity of structure which is very remarkable, and
not found in those of the perfect insect ; this pecu-
liarity enables them to he drawn in or lengthened at
the will of the larva. Those of the Cossus Caterpillar,
for instance, according to Lyonnet, are capable of
being entirely withdrawn into the first joint, so that
it appears as though altogether deprived of this
appendage.

The Mouth of most larvae is very similar in
structure to that of the perfect insect, with the
remarkable exception of the Butterfly and Moth
tribe, in which the mandibles of the larva entirely
disappear in the perfect insect, to he replaced by a
feeding apparatus of an entirely distinct kind. To
this exception may be added one of a somewhat
analogous description, which occurs in some few
Neuroptera and Dipt era.

The Trunk and Abdomen together are gene-
rally composed of twelve segments, occasionally
fourteen, but never more. In the larva of the
Water Beetle the segments forming the trunk are
longer than the others, while in most Lepidoptera
they are shorter.

ON LARYiE.

79

The Beet of larvse are of two kinds, both of
which are especially remarkable in the larvae of
Moths and Butterflies ; but in some classes, as that
to which Bees belong, and that in which the Gnat
tribes find their place, legs are altogether absent,
with a few exceptions. One special class of Beetle
larvae is also without legs; those of the Curcu-
lionidce, for example, which, like the footless class
named above, are of course mere worms, with the
exception of certain rudimental and somewhat gela-
tinous tentacles in the form of small tubercular
excrescences, which assist the balance in moving.

Of the two kinds of feet referred to, the first are
the six feet attached to those segments of the body,
most commonly three in number, which form the
trunk. These feet are regularly jointed, and are, in
fact, the only true feet, or pedes veri, as they have
been termed, within which the legs of the perfect
insect may be said to be contained.

The second kind are those merely membranous
feet attached to the abdominal portion of the body,
and commonly called ventral feet ; also pro-pedes
and pedes spurii ; that is to say, membranous sub-
stitutes for feet, or spurious feet. These spurious
feet generally commence on the sixth segment, and
the four pairs are placed on that and the next three

80

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

segments. Then occur two segments without feet,
and then another pair' on the anal or last segment.

Some of the “ False Caterpillars,” as they have
been termed, have as many as fourteen and sixteen
spurious feet (or pro-legs , or pro-feet ), as in the
cases of Tentliredo cerasi and other kinds of Ten-
tliredo ; while a large class of true Lepidopterous
larvae is entirely without the pro-feet of the ventral
segments. These are the “ Loopers the Half-
loopers having only two pairs. The absence of the
ventral legs in the true Loopers obliges the larva,
when in motion, to bring up those situated at the
anal segments close to the segments which are fur-
nished with the pectoral legs, thus forming the body
into a loop, ^nd then advancing the anterior portion
of the body till it becomes straight, the anal jno-
legs being again brought up as before. It is this
action which has suggested the name of Earth
Measurers or Geometrce .

Some Caterpillars walk much more swiftly than
others, while some, it is said, can even leap. X)e
Geer and llocsel mention the Caterpillars of Lithosia
Quadra and Herminia Rostralis as having this
power. This depends, doubtless, on the formation
of the pro-feet, which differ much in structure, some
having hooks, others none. There are some curious

OK LARVAL

81

exceptions to the ordinary arrangement of pro-legs
and true-legs; for instance, though in almost all
cases the pectoral or true feet of Lepidopterous
insects are much shorter in the larva than in the
perfect insect, yet in that anomalous Caterpillar
popularly known as the Lobster (see Plate Y. No. 3),
the pectoral legs are as long, or longer, than in the
perfect insect ; this form being required, it is said,
in order to enable it to spin its complicated cocoon.
In the larva of Beetles the pro-legs seldom occur,
or are, at all events, not well developed.

Some kinds of larvae are furnished with other
appendages, in addition to their feet, to aid them in
locomotion, such as the hooks on the hack of the
larva of a little Beetle, Cicindela Hybrida , which
assist it in ascending the hole in which it lives ; the
fringes which assist water larvae in guiding their
course ; and a similar appendage by means of which
the larvae of the great Water Beetle are enabled to
suspend themselves at the top of the water to take
in air.

The Spiracles or Breathing Places never
occur in the head, nor in connection with the
mouth, as in the higher animals, hut are arranged
along the sides in the perfect larvae, and sometimes
along the back or underneath in the larvae of insects

G

82

THE BUTTERFLY YIVARIUM.

which do not undergo a perfect metamorphosis. In
the larvae of Butterflies and Moths they are very
conspicuously situated above the feet in the side of
each segment, and generally surrounded hy an iris
of a very distinct colour ; they are in Caterpillars
generally eighteen in number. In the larva of the
Gnat, however, and also in many that have the fore
part of the body buried while feeding, the breathing
apparatus is situated near the tail.

The aquatic larvae of some of the Ephemera
breathe by means of delicate featlier-like branchiae
analogous to those of certain Molluscs. These
branchial organs are sometimes arranged along the
sides, and in others placed at the tail, as in the case
of the larva of the purple-winged Dragon-fly. In
these arrangements there are many modifications,
and the branchiae serve occasionally the double pur-
pose of a breathing apparatus and a fin-like means
of locomotion.

The Means oe Defence of larvae are in some
instances curious. Some have the faculty of drop-
ping from a branch as though dead when ap-
proached, spinning at the same time a web like
that of a Spider, either to break their fall or to serve
as a means of re-ascent when the danger is over,
though I have never observed the web to be made

/

ON LARViE. 83

use of in this way. Some merely curl up, pre-
senting a circle of silky spines (if of the hirsute kind),
after the manner of a Hedgehog. Some of the
Loopers extend their bodies in a straight line at
nearly a right angle from the branch on which they
are resting, looking so exactly like a small dead
branch, as to be often passed over without notice,
even when close to the eye, though a hungry bird
is seldom so easily deceived as the entomologist,
and darts upon them without hesitation.

A small Lepidopterous larva, that of Dicranurci
Vinula , has on the segment next the head a small
forked excrescence, each point of which is furnished
with a kind of rose like that of a watering-pan,
through which it can squirt to some distance a little
shower of acrid fluid, which causes for a short time
acute pain if it fall in the eye. This singular larva
has also another defence. It can put forth from
their cases near the tail two red filaments, which it
has the power of whisking about in every direc-
tion, and is thereby enabled to drive off a special
enemy in the form of an Ichneumon, which con-
tinually seeks to deposit its eggs in the skin of this
fierce little Caterpillar. Other Caterpillars, figured
by Merian and Ilorsefield, have, in appearance, some-
what similar appendages to those last named, and so

84

THE BUTTERFLY YIYARIUM.

have those of the Puss-moth tribe; but it is not
known how far they have the same powers to use
them for the same purposes.

Some Caterpillars have the power of exuding
globules of a fluid which emits a foetid odour,
serving as a defence, and which is re-absorbed, to
serve on another occasion, directly the present
danger is over. In some of the larvae of the genus
JPapilio the fork on the first segment only emits
an odour, without any fluid.

In speaking of means of attack or defence, the
curious mask of the larva of the Dragon-fly should
not be omitted. This curious appendage conceals
the formidable jaws of the creature as it is stealing
upon its foe ; and being raised, not only gives them
full play when the moment for action arrives, but
also closes upon the victim when seized, and pre-
vents the possibility of escape.

The Spinning Power, by means of which the
cocoon is formed by the Silk-worm and many other
kinds of larvae, is generally situated in the head, but
in some at the other extremity of the body.

The Skin varies in hardness, as I have said
before. In some of the Grub kind it is very soft,
except at the head, or trunk segments ; in others, it is
horny, and in some, transparent. In true Caterpil-

ON LARYiE.

85

lars, such as those of Butterflies and Moths, it is often
beautifully variegated with the richest colours and
most exquisite markings, and also in some kinds
with beautiful silky hairs, which sometimes clothe
the whole body, and in other cases are arranged in
tassel-like tufts of various kinds. Others have
curiously branching spines issuing from each seg-
ment, the use of which is unknown, hut which are
often very beautiful. The skins, or rather furs, are
cast several times, as previously described, each
of their skins having, as shown by Swammerdam,
existed under the other from the beginning.

It has been considered somewhat inexplicable
that the external markings and colouring of the
Caterpillar seldom foreshadow, in the slightest de-
gree, the colours of the perfect insect. Some of the
most dingy Caterpillars, for instance, produce the
most splendid Moths ; and, on the other hand,
magnificent Caterpillars — and some of them are well
worthy of that term — often produce, to the great
disappointment of those who have reared them,
simple dark-hued insects, of the most inconspicuous
character as to colour and markings. Some Ame-
rican Caterpillars, it has been remarked, are so pre-
cisely like certain of our own in external appear-
ance, that they have been taken for the same species,

86

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

and have yet produced Motlis, or Butterflies, as
different as possible from those produced by the
English species which they so closely resembled.
There are, however, instances of an opposite kind,
which make the whole arrangement appear still
more capricious. The Caterpillar of the Currant-
moth, for instance, is white, spotted with black and
orange, like the perfect insect ; and several other
instances might he cited, hut they form a very
small minority.

The Growth of Caterpillars is sometimes very
rapid — at other tmes quite the reverse. In some
cases the increase of size after hatching is enormous;
the weight of the Cossus, when full grown, as we
are told by Lyonnet, being 72,000 times greater than
when first hatched ; but then he is very long lived.

The growth takes place most rapidly after
each moult or change of skin. “The head of the
Silk-worm, after casting its skin, becomes almost
immediately four times its previous size,” says Mal-
pighi; but then it is a voracious feeder, and con-
sumes in thirty days above an ounce of leaves, thus
devouring above 60,000 times its own original
weight, which is, when hatched, only about the
hundredth part of a grain. I may here suggest that
the Vivarium is exceedingly well calculated for the

ON LARVAE.

87

rearing of Silk-worms during tlieir feeding period, as
it would secure them against those sudden atmos-
pheric changes which are very injurious to them,
and be the means of a great economy of food ; for by
placing the lower end of a branch of Mulberry in
one of the water-bottles, the leaves would be kept
fresh till all consumed, and at the same time be
rendered more healthy for the Caterpillars to feed
upon than half-withered ones. The greatest rapi-
dity of growth, however, is perhaps that which
takes place in a class of larvae which do not “ moult”
— those of the House-flies, which, says Redi, become
from 140 to 200 times their original weight in the
first twenty-four hours after hatching.

Some small larvae become larger insects in their
perfect state than those of greater dimensions, while
some of much larger size produce, after their final
change, insects strikingly smaller than their pro-
portion would lead us to expect.

The Duration oe the Larva Stage varies
exceedingly. That of the well-known Butterfly
Argynnis Papilla changes to the pupa state in
fourteen days ; Bees remain about twenty days in
the larva stage. The Cossus and the May-bug are
said to pass three years in the larva state ; and the
Beetle Orycles Nasicornis four years. The larva

88

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

of tlie Stag Beetle, does not change for six years ;
while some of the wood-eating larvae are supposed
to live in that stage very much longer.

In the “ Linnaean Transactions,” for instance,
there is an interesting account by Mr. Marsham of
the coming forth of the perfect form of Buprestis
Splendens , an exotic insect, which is a wood-borer
in its larva stage, and which he infers, from the
following circumstances, must have passed full
twenty years in the larva state : — In the year 1810,
the perfect insect emerged from the wood of a desk
made of foreign wood, for a public office, in 1788-9,
from which the long period of its larva existence
seems pretty clearly shown. It would seem that
meat-eating larvae undergo their change most
quickly, and that those feeding under ground, or
in wood, are the most tardy in their transfor-
mation; while those which are leaf-feeders, such
as those of Butterflies, etc., hold a medium place.

Among water larvae it may be noticed that those
of Gnats change in a few weeks; those of the
Dragon-fly tribe, according to De Bambur, in about
a year; while some of the Ephemera, as though
to compensate for the exceeding brevity of their
existence in their winged state, live several years in
that of an aquatic Grub. The manner in which

ON LARViE. ■

89

larvae, when about to enter the pupa state, prepare
for that change by the construction of complicated
cocoons, and by many other preparatory arrange-
ments, the result of their peculiar instincts, must
form the subject of the next Chapter, in which I
intend to give some account of the pupa stage of
insect life.

CHAPTER VI.

THE PUPA OR CHRYSALIS-
INTO THE PUPA STATE -

-PREPARATION TO ENTER
-ITS CHARACTER, ETC.

/j HE perfect chrysalis was called a
-4> V “pupa” by Linnaeus from the Latin
pupa, an infant, because be considered
it like a young infant “swathed” after
the continental manner, and destined to
0, cast off its swathing at a proper age. They
J >r were called “ chrysalides,” or golden-hned
4 things, from the peculiar metallic and golden
gloss which some exhibit, as described in another
place.

When the Caterpillar, or any kind of larva, feels
itself about to enter into the pupa state, the signs
of the approaching change being always correctly
interpreted by an unerring instinct, it generally
seeks some situation in which it is likely to remain
secure during the period of its dormant and defence-
less state. Many of the larva of the Beetle tribe,
and those of Hymenoptera , allied to the Bee family,

.THE TUPA OR CHRYSALIS.

91

however, sink gradually into a torpid state when
they are full grown, without making any prepa-
ration for the change, their secure situation render-
ing it unnecessary. This security occurs, especially
in the case of Bees, from each larva finding itself
in a cell prepared for it, even before its birth, in
which to pass the first three stages of its life — that
of the egg, the larva, and the pupa.

Most of the root-feeders seek no further pro-
tection than the hollow which they necessarily form
in eating their way through the substance on which
they feed. The larva of many Beetles thus undergo
their change either in old and rotten or in growing
wood, where they may he sought by the collector,
as their place of retreat will always he indicated by
the effect produced in their previous ravages.

Others, in a less secure situation, appear to have
the instinct to protect themselves from accident
during their pupa state by timely preparation ; hut
many of these, after a period of restlessness and
apparently a vague search, seem to content them-
selves, in despair of doing better, with a heap of
dead leaves or a slit in a tree, or beneath a flake of
decaying bark, where I have sometimes found hud-
dled together several chrysalides of the Bed-under-
wing Moth. Others seem at last to determine upon

92

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

burying themselves at a considerable depth in the
earth, as the most secure position in which to un-
dergo their change, and often make themselves a
kind of vault, by consolidating the surrounding
soil with a mucous fluid. The larva of the Meat-
fly quits the scene of its repast when full grown,
and seeks at some considerable distance a fit place
for its change ; but a heap of dust, or any kind of
dry rubbish, generally suits its purpose, as it is
not particularly fastidious in its choice.

Many, having found what appears to them a
suitable retreat, take no more precautions, like those
whose position is naturally secure at the time, from
the nature of their habits. Others, like the larvae
of the Syrphus and Lady-bird tribes, merely secure
themselves by a few threads, spun at the caudal
extremity, by means of which they remain firmly
attached to the leaf they have selected as the scene
of their transformation, in the position in which
the chrysalis of Chrysomela Tremulce is represented
in Plate VII. No. 6.

Some small insects, as Harpy a Fagi, masticate
portions of wood from the tree on which they feed,
for the purpose of forming a pupa-house, mixing
with it a fluid furnished by the mouth, which causes
the composition to solidify very rapidly, and the

THE PUPA OR CHRYSALIS.

93

little cocoon becomes eventually so hard that a
knife will scarcely make an incision in it.

Aquatic larvae, suck as that of the Water Beetle,
Dyticiis Marginalise burrow in the banks at or
near the surface of the water, and there undergo
their change in a well-made cocoon of earth, which
they construct with much skill, and in which the
larva, gradually shortening and changing in all its
proportions, by degrees becomes a perfect Beetle
(during what Linnaeus has termed the nympli state,
to distinguish it from that of the true chrysalis),
but it is still white and soft in all its members, even
more so than in the Caterpillar stage, till the hard-
ening process begins. Some of the earth cocoons,
or rather cases, of this kind are very compact and
hard; others comparatively brittle and easily in-
jured. The aquatic larva of the Dragon-fly has the
faculty, as stated in another place, of preparing for
its future destiny by actually quitting its native
element, and preparing to undergo its change to
the pupa state, while clinging to a rush or reed
just above the surface of the water, but without
any protection whatever.

The most interesting cocoons, and other pro-
tective habitations for undergoing the transforma-
tion to the pupa state, are those constructed by the

94

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

larvae of Butterflies and Motlis, from that of the
Silk-worm down to the most minute grub of the
Tinece. Those of the wood-feeding class have,
however, more affinity in their habits, at this pe-
riod of their existence, to the larvae of Beetles.
The Cossus, being a long-lived larva, makes itself
each winter a sleeping-room, similar to that
which it eventually forms for its abode during its
change to the winged state, which it effects by
webbing together, with the silky secretion it is
furnished with for that purpose, the fragments of
wood produced by its own depredations.

Some of the small Moths, among the Tortrices
and Tinece , also make themselves abodes for their
period of change from the debris which they have
created. Some of the same class of small Moths
unite several leaves to form a protection, and others
make one leaf serve their purpose, by skilfully
forming it into a hollow roll, in the interior of
which, within a slightly webbed cocoon, they pass
through the pupa state in tolerable security. These
are termed the Leaf-rollers.

The process pursued by the Leaf- rollers is very
curious, and was first observed in all its compli-
cations by the indefatigable naturalist Bonnet. I
have not space for his interesting description, but

THE PUPA OR CHRYSALIS.

95

the summary of it is as follows : — The larva first
attaches a series of threads, at regular distances, to
the part of the leaf which is to he rolled over.
Having completed this part of its work, it begins
to pull them one by one, till by degrees, drawn
by these gossamer cables, the leaf begins to turn
over in the direction required. If the leaf be of too
stiff a texture, refusing to yield to all the tension
its means can exert, the little larva gnaws through
portions of the veins, or eats away part of the sur-
face of the leaf, till the causes of resistance are thus
weakened, and the green bed-curtain which is to
shelter its long slumber is drawn closely round in
the direction required.

Other larvse of the same class, instead of rolling,
cut off portions of the leaf, to form the sides and
top of the dwelling, the floor being supplied by the
part of the same leaf not mutilated. Reaumur
carefully watched the progress of another minute
larva, the Tinea?, in the act of splitting the upper
from the lower surfaces of rose-leaves, and making
its sleeping-room between; and if, in the course
of the process, any portion became too far divided
or rent, it was refastened with a web so neatly,
that the repair was scarcely visible to the naked
eye. Other kinds make leaf habitations by sewing

96

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

together pieces of peculiar shapes, as cunningly as
a tailor fashions the hack of a coat; and in this
work the seams, too, are as neat and regular.
Many other methods are followed by these small
larvae in constructing leaf houses, in which as much
ingenuity and geometrical precision is displayed as
that which the Bee exhibits in the plan and exe-
cution of the wonderful “ honeycomb.”

The Tinea Sersatilla makes its house entirely
of the silken web, which it spins in a similar manner
to that of the Silk-worm ; in this case, however, it is
not merely a cocoon in which the transformation is
to take place, but at the same time a little tent,
which serves it for a locomotive living house before
it becomes a temporary tomb. This tent is care-
fully pitched at a certain spot, where the pulpy
surface of the leaf seems most inviting, and there
secured by far- stretching threads, similar to those
of an ordinary camp tent.

When all the surface beneath this shelter has
been consumed, the tent is removed ; till at last,
when the larva has ceased to desire food, and is
about to change, the little tent serves as the pro-
tection for the pupa or chrysalis. The minute
silky excrescences often seen on the backs of pear
leaves are the tents of this little larva, and on

THE PUPA OR CHRYSALIS.

97

examination would be found to contain either a
minute chrysalis or a little yellow grub with a
black head, which is the laiwa of the Tinea in
question.

The larva of the Tinea Taliatella makes a si-
milar kind of tent, with the exception that the
webbing is so disposed as to look like a roof of
small white tiles, or rather scales.

In the Beetle tribe some of the larvae, when
about to change, cement portions of the surround-
ing earth together, so as to form a secure retreat,
as in the case of Clythra Longimana. In some
instances these cases are lined with a silky sub-
stance, or, as it were, varnished with a slimy
secretion.

A larva that infests Beehives constructs for itself
a kind of gallery or covered way as it goes for-
ward, the interior of which is lined with a smooth
weh, so tough that Bees in vain attempt to expel
the intruder by piercing it with their stings.
It is proof against all their efforts, and they fre-
quently desert their hive in despair at being unable
to get rid of the invader. This constructor of sting-
proof galleries has received from Tabricius the cha-
racteristic generic name “ Galleria ,” to which is
added the specific denomination <c Cere ana,” in al-

ii

98

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

lusion to its destruction of the wax of the honey-
comb. The Galleria genus contains no other British
species.

Most of the habitations framed by larvae for
protection during the pupa state are, more or less,
nearly close fitting, and these may perhaps he con-
sidered rather in the light of clothing, while others
more roomy may rather he considered as residences.

The woollen tubes formed by the larvae of
various small Moths of the Tinean family are very
curious, and an interesting effect may be produced
by guiding their industry after a certain manner.
Tor instance, by carefully placing the larvae succes-
sively on cloths of different colours, their case will
become variegated by the new material, each time
they enlarge it to suit their increased growth. A
very richly coloured tube is thus produced by the
successive addition of blue, red, green, white, or any
other coloured cloth that may have been selected.
The garment of many colours so formed is a very
pretty object when examined with the aid of a
powerful microscope, and the experiment is well
worth trying.

Some of the small larvae which feed on the blos-
soms of the kind of -willows that generally grow on
the banks of ponds or streams, make their houses

THE PUPA OR CHRYSALIS.

99

of the down that covers the seed-vessels of this
tribe of trees. The little Caterpillars know how
to render their so-formed structure completely water-
proof, by “ felting” it with a fluid with which
Nature has furnished them for that purpose. The
house therefore serves them, in time of need, as a
boat also, if unluckily blown by the March or
April winds from the branches where they feed
into the water below ; in which case they float se-
curely to shore in their little life-boat. Branches
of willow might he sought when in blossom in the
early spring, on which some of these interesting
little architects and ship-builders would be pretty
sure to he found ; and by placing the said branches,
with the stalks in water, in the Vivarium, their
transformations might he watched. The branches
might also he made to lean over the tank, and some
of the larvae shaken into it for the purpose of ob-
serving their escape in the little floating houses.

Among the better known cocoons or chrysalis-
houses of the larger Moths, the first place must
always he given to that of the Silk-worm, the finely
spun weh of which has for several thousands of years
furnished the silk of commerce to Oriental nations,
though the knowledge of the Worm and the me-
thod of procuring its silk has only been generally

100

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

known in Europe since the thirteenth century. In
proof of the extremely early manufacture of silk in
the East, it may he stated that at the time in
which the earliest kind of Chinese writing was in
use, which was a pictorial hieroglyphic character
very similar to that of Egypt, silk was expressed by
a sign in the shape of a twisted hank of that sub-
stance, in the very form in which it is manu-
factured in China at the present day. And as the
earliest class of this writing did not remain in use
later than about 3000 b. c., it proves that manu-
factured silk was a well known product at that
early epoch. The cocoon of the Silk-worm, how-
ever, though of great interest, is too well known
to require description here; it will suffice to re-
mark that many cocoons of very similar character
are produced by the larvae of other Moths, which
have at different times been thought capable of
yielding an equally valuable silk, although the expe-
riments upon them for that purpose have hitherto
always failed.

The large silk-like cocoon of the handsome Moth
Saturnia Spini is of an entirely different nature, not
being formed of spun silk, hut of the silky hairs
from the body of the larva, which are woven, or
rather felted together, instead of forming a con-

THE PUPA OR CHRYSALIS.

101

tinuous web like that of the Silk-worm. Saturnia
Carpini, another of the family, however, makes a
very pretty cocoon of true silk, as clo the larvae of
manv British Moths ; while others mix with the silk

v

other substances, which they weave along with it.
Chelonia Villica weaves a cocoon of very loose,
open thread; the Box-moth, a close semi-trans-
parent tube, closed at each end and bent in the
form of a crescent, much larger than the chrysalis.
This cocoon has somewhat the consistency of tissue-
paper, and within it the chrysalis is said to move
about, as described when speaking of the power of
movement in chrysalides.

The Burnet-moth Caterpillar also makes a cocoon
of singularly compact paper-like tissue, as do some
others ; while the handsome Caterpillar of the com-
mon Moth, Clisiocampa Neustria , weaves a woolly-
looking yellow cocoon, which appears covered with
a substance like powdered sulphur.

The small larvse of one of the Moths of the Tor-
trix family, Tortrix Trasinana, forms a compact
brown cocoon of a curious boat-like shape; and endless
other varieties of form and general character occur.

Although it has been shown what comfortable
houses of silk, and other analogous substances, the
larvse of Moths form for themselves as retreats in

102

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

which to undergo their pupa stage, those of Butter-
flies scarcely ever provide any sort of protection for
this state. When the larvae are full grown and cease
to feed, they betray the same uneasiness which is
common to other larvae, and frequently quit, as in
disgust, the plant on the foliage of which they have
been nourished, in search of some situation deemed
more secure, as may he witnessed by placing the
Caterpillars of two or three common species in the
Vivarium, such as that of the “ Cabbage White,”
and that of the small Tortoise-shell or Peacock
Butterflies. Notwithstanding this apparent anxiety
however, they are at last content merely to fasten
themselves to some place which their instinct sug-
gests to them as convenient, by means of a loop
formed of a few threads of a web which they
have the means of spinning.

The process is effected in the following manner: —
The Caterpillar of the common Cabbage White
Butterfly, when for this purpose it has taken its
post against a branch or wall, or piece of paling —
for it seems to prefer a solid support — first spins
from its mouth a small knot of silky thread, which it
fastens on one side of its body near the front pair of
ventral legs. Then, passing the head over to the
other side, it carries a thread with it and attaches it

THE PUPA OR CHRYSALIS.

103

to tlie wall or branch in a corresponding position
on the opposite side of its body. In this way a
loop is formed which will effectually prevent the
Caterpillar from falling as he sinks into a dormant
state. But it is not yet strong enough, the thread
being of excessive fineness, and therefore the process
is repeated about fifty times, as observed by Reau-
mur, when the number of threads is generally deemed
sufficient. In order to secure a sufficient degree
of slackness in the loop, to allow for the thickening
of the body in the chrysalis state, Reaumur de-
scribes, at considerable length, a process by means
of which that necessity is ingeniously secured ; but
I have, nevertheless, observed that the loop round
the chrysalis often appears uncomfortably tight,
nearly cutting a dent into the external skin, as re-
presented in Plate III.

A different method is pursued by the Caterpillar
of the Great Swallow-tail Butterfly, the handsomest
of our native species, in consequence of the com-
parative want of flexibility in its more robust body.
Not being able to turn the head freely backward to
form a loop across the middle of its body, it makes
the loop immediately in front of its head, into which,
when complete, it gradually forces its body, seg-
ment by segment, till it has attained the position in

104

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

reference to the loop which is best calculated to
afford an even balance, and then, like the larva of
the "White Butterfly, it holds itself still, and in
a straight position, to await the impending trans-
formation. Sometimes, in spite of the beautiful
accuracy with which it performs its work, the
head gets entangled in passing through the loop
formed of forty or fifty threads, which causes great
labour to the unfortunate larva. Generally, how-
ever, after repeated efforts, it manages to extricate
itself and complete its preparation ; but in the con-
trary case, it always perishes without the transfor-
mation being accomplished.

A third method of forming this loop is practised
by the short, Wood Louse-formed Caterpillars of the
pretty little Butterflies of the Tliecla family. These
Caterpillars, the shape of which may be judged of
by that of one of the Argus family, in Plate II. No. 7,
place the loop just over the head, instead of in the
front of it like the larvae of the Swallow-tail, and
afterwards force the body forward till the loop is
nearly in the middle.

The larvae of another class of our native Butter-
flies, instead of securing themselves by means of
a loop round the centre of the body, suspend them-
selves by a kind of web, which attaches the tail to

THE PUPA OR CHRYSALIS.

105

tlie under surface of some conveniently placed
leaf, and they thus hang suspended, head down-
wards, to undergo their transformation, as shown
in the suspended chrysalis in Plate II. No. 3. This
mode of undergoing the change to the pupa state
is common to most of the larvae of the handsome
species of the genus Vanessa , among which are
the Peacock, the Red Admiral, the Painted Lady,
etc. The larva of the Purple Emperor also sus-
pends itself, as do those of our pretty Erittillaries
and Meadow Butterflies.

When the case of the pupa is completely formed
inside the last skin of the Caterpillar, which soon
afterwards splits and falls off, another skin is
cast, inside, by the insect within the pupa-case ; and
this skin remains in the shell, where it may he
found after the perfect insect has escaped.

Some larvae, after forming the cocoon, change
almost immediately to the chrysalis state, while
others remain within the cocoon for months still
in the larva form. The Cossus , for instance, when
it spins its cocoon for change in autumn, remains
in the Caterpillar state within it till the following
June, when it becomes rapidly a chrysalis, and the
perfect insect comes forth in a few weeks.

There are many different kinds of pupae, but

106

THE BUTTERFLY YIYARIUM.

they may he divided into three tolerably distinct
classes : —

hirst, those which so closely resemble the larva
stage, that the precise time of transition is scarcely
perceptible.

Secondly, those partially resembling the larva,
hut having rudimental wings appearing more con-
spicuously than in the preceding state.

Thirdly, those in which the form of the larva
entirely disappears in the case or perfect chrysalis, or
becomes a form of the nymph kind.

Or they may he divided into two divisions only ;
those which are active during the pupa or nymph
stage, as Grasshoppers, etc., and continue to eat ;
and those which sink into a partly dormant state,
as those of Butterflies and Moths, certain Beetles,
Dragon-flies, etc.

Within the case, the pupa itself exhibits, at a
comparatively early stage of its progress, nearly all
the parts of the perfect insect very distinctly.
In such pupa cases as those of the Dragon-fly,
which enclose each principal member separately, the
eventual forms quickly assume, with the exception
of the wings, nearly their full proportions and
natural position, though in a soft state. In the
complete chrysalis, where all the members are tightly

THE PUPA OR CHRYSALIS.

107

enclosed within one entire shell, they are very
curiously folded close to the trunk, either against
the sides like the wings, underneath the body,
like the antennae of Butterflies, or over the back,
like the slender oyiduct of the Ichneumons. I
may mention here, that the legs of Tipulce — the
Harry-long-legs tribe — are triply folded in a very
beautiful manner, and that the pupae of some
Beetles exhibit curious excrescences, which entirely
disappear when the change is complete.

We must, however, devote the principal part of
our attention to the true chrysalides, such as those
of Butterflies and Moths, as more likely to be inte-
resting to the general reader. Many a naturalist,
indeed, has had his attention first called to the
subject by the sight of a single chrysalis, that
curious and evidently living thing, yet without
any apparent power of taking nourishment, with-
out sight, and without means of locomotion, and
yet which contains, as he is told, a perfect Butter-
fly— a creature that will in due season break
forth from the shell, and expand its wide and
beautiful wings, uninjured by their close folding
within that narrow prison. De Bambur, in fact,
states in one of his works, that the first sight
of a chrysalis, when a boy, at once made him an
entomological student for life.

108

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

A chrysalis must he carefully examined before
all its interest can he fully appreciated. Each
delicate line and wrinkle on the nearly even
surface of that of a Moth, for instance — marks
which appear to the unob servant only so many ac-
cidental ridges or indentations — form, in fact, the
outlines or immediate encasings of the enclosed
members of the Moth itself ; and to each of these
features, in the shell of the chrysalis, the late
Mr. Ivirhy assigned a fitting name.

The only part endowed with any power of motion
is the segmental portion which encloses the abdo-
men of the insect within. This jointed portion of
the chrysalis Mr. Kirby termed the gastrotheca ,
from the Greek words, gaster , the abdomen or
stomach, and thehe , a case or receptacle.

The other extremity, which, with a little ex-
amination, will be seen to indicate the forms of
the head, of which it is a kind of close horny
helmet, was called the cephcclotheca, or head-case ;
and a portion of this, fitting the eyes, the form of
which may he traced in the two raised gobules, was
called ophthalmotheca , or eye-case. Passing from
beneath the head are two delicately raised ridges,
very gracefully curved, which contain the antenna',
and have, therefore, received the name, respectively,
of ceratheca ; while the main portion, in which

THE PUPA OR CHRYSALIS.

109

the form of the trunk or fore part of the body of
the Moth may be traced, is called glossotheca. At
each side of the glossotheca , the student will per-
ceive a series of radiated markings, forming, with the
outline against which they abut, a shape not unlike
that of a half-expanded fan, the narrow end or
handle of which is underneath the trunk, leaving
the radiations to spread upwards. These are the por-
tions of the general sheath which enclose the embryo
wings, the outline of which, as they exist in minia-
ture within the shell, is plainly indicated. These,
therefore, have been each termed a pterotlieca , or
wing-case. If the student will take the trouble to
examine a chrysalis thus carefully, before placing it
in his Vivarium to await its change to the perfect
state, an intimacy with many delicately marked fea-
tures, that might easily have been passed by unob-
served, will have been so established as to give much
additional zest to the eventual disclosure of those
inner forms of which they indicate so beautifully
the leading characteristics.

The chrysalis selected for the foregoing de-
scription of all its parts was that of an ordinary
Moth, the chrysalides of that division of the pupae
of Lepicloptera being comparatively smooth, as shown
in the empty case, Plate IV. No. 2. Those of the

110

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

Butterfly division, on the other hand, offer much
greater variety of form, nearly all having curious
little points at intervals along their ridges, and
being in general of an angular rather than a conical
form, as shown in the suspended chrysalis, Plate II.
No. 3. Of these angularities, the chrysalis en-
graved in the work of Madame Merian, of the magni-
ficent Butterfly Morpho Idomeneus , may be cited as
an extreme example; as is also that of Ornithoptera
Heliacon , figured by Horsefield in his fine work
on the insects of Java, still incomplete. Por the
extreme angularity of the entire form, that of Ccdli-
drias JEubcdus , figured by Stoll, may he cited, the
part containing the head dipping downwards in a
nearly vertical direction, while the tail portion
shoots off from the root of the wing-case in a nearly
horizontal line. The chrysalis of our pretty native
Butterfly the Orange Tip, JEuchloe Cardammes , is
of somewhat similar formation, and therefore
assigned to a class popularly called “ boat-shaped”
chrysalides.

The small and perfectly oval chrysalides so often
found are those of the Syr pirns tribe, and of com-
mon House-flies, etc., of which there are many
modifications of form. That of Syrphus Pinastri
is shaped like a small flask, or, as Reaumur poetically

THE PUPA OR CHRYSALIS.

Ill

expresses it, like a “tear.” In some instances, the
extremity terminates in a slender tail-like append-
age, either forked or simple.

Some chrysalides have, like nymphs, or semi-
pupse, a means of locomotion, though very restricted
in its character. This means is generally fur-
nished by such spines as those on the sides of that
of the Cossus Ligniperda , which are said to enable
it to force itself partly out of the hole in a tree in
which it has lain, just in time and just sufficiently
to allow the winged insect, when the shell opens, to
escape without injury to its wings ; and that of the
liop-feeding Hepicilus , the Common Swift, is said to
he furnished with similar appendages, by means of
which it is enabled to move about in its spacious
cocoon ; while the chrysalis of the handsome Moth
Lasiocampa Quercus is said to move up and down
its long crescent-shaped cocoon (similar to that of
the Pox-moth) like a chimney-sweep, getting up
with considerable labour, hut coming down much
more rapidly.

Other chrysalides, though necessarily, as it
would seem, so inert from the nature of their
structure, have yet positively the power of leaping.
This was observed by the indefatigable Reaumur
in some small chrysalides, which, by holding them-

112

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

selves bent, and then suddenly curving in the op-
posite direction, are enabled to leap a distance of
two or three inches and even more. It unfor-
tunately happened that they had all been victims to
a small kind of Ichneumon, so that he never knew
precisely to what class of insects to assign them.

In Colour, chrysalides in general do not offer
either such brilliancy or variety as caterpillars.
The shell-less nymphs, or imperfect pupae, are
generally of different shades of dusky white ;
while the perfect chrysalides of the smooth coni-
cal kind are most commonly dark brown or
black. The angular chrysalides of Butterflies
are, however, not only prettily spotted with minute
specks, but sometimes often variegated with small
metallic patches of light orange colour that have
the lustre of gold. The boat-shaped chrysalis
of JEucliloe Cardamines is bright green, as is that
of the Purple Emperor, while some of the angular
chrysalides of the genus Vanessa are almost en-
tirely of a bright metallic golden hue, from which
the general terms Chrysalis and Aurelia are de-
rived, from the Greek words krysos (/cpwo?), gold, or
krysallis {jcpmdid u?), golden coloured, and from the
Latin aurum , gold, or aurea , golden. The early
collectors, who then, as now, generally began their

THE PUPA OR CHRYSALIS.

113

entomological collection with a single chrysalis, or
aurelia, were, in fact, called “ Aurelians.” Heau-
mnr explains that this golden appearance is caused
by the more solid texture of the chrysalis being of
a rich yellow colour, and clothed with an external
and transparent membrane, beneath which is a
layer of fluid, which gives the metallic effect. If,
in fact, a newly formed chrysalis of a Vanessa be
turned about, the gold patches will he found to
move with the fluid by which they are caused, and,
when old and dry, the golden hues disappear alto-
gether. The chrysalides of Moths are, as I have
said, almost invariably of various shades of brown,
from a light foxy tone to nearly black, hut some
few are of more striking colours. That of Geo-
metra Alniaria , for example, is of a glaucous blue ;
that of Catocala Sp onset of a light lilac; that of
C. Facta of a delicate blue, arising from a kind of
bloom with which it is covered. This bloom is
easily brushed off, hut reappears again in a short
time.

Some few have the wing-cases of a different
colour to that of the shell; and the chrysalis of
Fyrjeera Anastomosis has two red stripes on the
back.

The duration of the pupa stage is from a few

i

114

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

clays to two or three or more years, the smaller
kinds, in general, undergoing their changes more
rapidly than the large ones. The influence of tem-
perature is much more apparent in the case of chry-
salides than it is with eggs, as satisfactorily proved
by Reaumur. He placed a number of chrysalides
in a hot-house in J anuary, which under natural cir-
cumstances would not have given forth the perfect
insect till May ; hut which, influenced by the arti-
ficial heat, opened within fourteen clays. A contrary
experiment was equally successful; a number of
chrysalides placed in an ice-house being retarded
during a whole year. It should Ire stated that those
raised by heat were all healthy, and bred and laid
their eggs, which were successfully hatched. This
sufficiently demonstrates the possibility of rearing
splendid tropical species with the assistance of arti-
ficial heat, as described in my Chapter upon that
subject.

To return to the consideration of the time
passed in the pupa state under ordinary circum-
stances, I may remark here that seemingly inexpli-
cable variations in this respect occur in the same
species. Out of a hatch of chrysalides, of the same
brood, the great majority will open at the usual
time ; hut some few will invariably remain in the

THE PUPA OR CHRYSALIS.

115

chrysalis state during irregular periods afterwards,
a few not expanding till tlie following season. La-
cordaire mentions a particular case of this kind in
Cayenne, where, out of a brood of the fine Moth
Saturnia Papilla, which he had reared, the greater
part only remained in the chrysalis state fourteen
days, while a few continued for several months in
that state, afterwards producing the matured insect
in a perfectly healthy state. This would appear to
he a providential arrangement to prevent a species
from becoming extinct by any sweeping calamity,
such as a storm, change of temperature, or insect
epidemic, which might swTeep off a whole species if
all came out precisely at the same time. In such a
case, the reserve, safely secured from the calamity
in the pupa, would come forth at a more propitious
season and restore an otherwise lost species.

While speaking of the coming out of a particu-
lar kind at an exact season, I ought to mention
some of the Ephemera, one species of which, accord-
ing to Reaumur, invariably appears between the
10th and 18th of August, and at no other time.
Fishermen are well acquainted with this fact, and
are never disappointed in the appearance of these
aquatic flies, which they sometimes use as attractive
baits. Swammerdam had previously observed simi-

116

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

lar facts concerning tlie Ephemera? common in the
Rhine.

The broods described by Reaumur not only ap-
peared at a precise season but at a particular hour,
which was invariably betAveen eight and ten o’clock
in the evening, at which time they filled the air in
vast multitudes, regardless of the state of the tem-
perature, or of wind or rain-storm. Them ap-
pearance and disappearance are both very sudden,
not a single individual being visible an hour before
or an hour afterwards.

Other insects have also particular hours of pre-
ference, as it would seem, for the entrance upon
their most brilliant, but brief and final period of
existence. The JBombyx of the Mulberry never
emerges from its chrysalis but at the hour of sun-
rise; the Lime llaAvk-moth, Smerinthus Tilice , at
midday ; the Death’s-head HaAvk-moth, Acherontia
Atropos, according to Scliroeter, always making its
escape from the chrysalis betAveen four and seA-en
in the afternoon. Rut with regard to other kinds,
either they are altogether irregular in this respect,
or the observations of our naturalists have not
yet furnished us Avith a sufficient number of data
on the subject to enable us to decide the question.

The method by which different insects escape

THE PUPA OR CHRYSALIS.

117

from tlie chrysalis are very various. In the case of
Butterflies and Moths, which clo not make a cocoon
in which to pass the chrysalis state, the manner of
coming forth is very simple. The skin of the chry-
salis splits up the hack so soon as the imago attains
its full size, and the rent being increased by the
effort of the imprisoned insect, the escape is easy.
It is much the same with Dragon-flies, though the
chrysalis is of a different kind.

In several other classes of insects, however, the
means by which the escape is effected are ex-
ceedingly curious. Many kinds of flies burst open
the top of their little egg-shaped prison by a very
singular application of the principle of atmospheric
pressure. They possess the means of inflating a
membrane on the top of the head till it assumes
the appearance of a bladder, much larger than the
head itself. The pressure exerted by this means on
the upper part of the shell forces it open, and then,
the only purpose of the membrane in question
having been carried into effect, it is immediately
shed, like the dried skin of a cicatrized wound, and
no vestige of such an appendage remains. Other
flies, by somewhat analogous means, force out the
opposite end of the pupa case.

The pupa of the pretty Beetle Cetonia Aurata ,

118

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

tlie larva of which forms a very compact earthy
cocoon, waits till its wings are become hard
before it can effect its escape, which it does by con-
stantly rubbing them against his earthen sarco-
phagus, and is sometimes fourteen or fifteen days
in effecting his escape. The May-hug is said to be
a whole month making his way out of his own
house ; and, according to Roesel, the Stag Beetle is
about three weeks.

The larva of a small Tinea pierces a grain of
wheat with a very minute puncture, and after
making its way in by this modest little door, very
soon becomes too fat on the rich farinaceous food
to think of getting out the same way. Before
entering into the pupa state, however, it takes the
precaution to eat away a small circular portion so
close to the last external cuticle, that when the
perfect insect emerges from the chrysalis, it easily
forces its way out. Bonnet, who was the first, I
believe, to describe this process, mentions similar
means adopted by other small Moths on escaping
from their chrysalides, when similarly situated.

The escape from the cocoon is also effected in
other ways. In some instances the larva forms a
lid to the cocoon, by means of which the perfect
insect easily makes its way out, as is the case with

THE PUPA OR CHRYSALIS,

119

tlie fine Moth Saturnia Spini , and a small Tortrix ;
while the Moth of the Silk-worm positively breaks
its way ont of its silky enclosure by means of its
“eyes,” these being at the time the only hardened
part of its body ; and their raised facets, acting like
little files, soon clear a passage for the more tender
parts of the body and wings. It is on this account
that it becomes necessary to destroy the Moth in
its chrysalis, by scalding, when it is wished to pre-
serve the silk, which would otherwise be rendered
worthless.

Among Ants, the “Workers” have the in-
stinctive duty assigned to them of letting ont their
congeners from their chrysalides when the proper
time arrives. This they do by biting through a
ligament which makes the shell so solid, that the
young Ant would never be able to make his way
out unaided ; and the worker, whose duty it is to
attend to this essential business, never mistakes the
precisely proper time for this operation.

The Caddis Worm, when about to pass to the
pupa state, covers up each end of its house with a
silken tissue. When the time of pupation is over,
the insect appears to become furnished with false
mandibles, with which it cuts through the silk
in front of the head, which it then puts forth,

120

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

and by the action of the pectoral legs swims to the
surface.

The escaping insect, as he emerges, uses the
pupa case as a kind of raft, on which it puts forth its
wings without injury from wet ; and by the time it
has completed its toilet, all traces of the mandibles,
by means of which the silken door of the prison was
cut open, have disappeared. This pretty Moth-like
insect undergoes yet another change, or extraordi-
nary kind of moult, before it is ready to pass in full
costume the two or three hours of existence assigned
to its winged state. This consists in divesting it-
self of an extra skin which covers the wings
and every other member, and which, when left on
the branch where the operation was performed, seems
so like the fly itself which has just quitted it, that a
careless observer would certainly be deceived, for
the deserted sheath is still an entire, unbroken piece.

The Gnat is enabled to emerge from its chrysalis
without wetting, in consequence of a portion of the
corslet being covered with a greasy secretion, which
keeps it dry, and prevents the whole from sinking
while the Gnat escapes. It floats, though heavier
than the w^ater, upon the same principle that a dry
needle does, for a short time. When the shell first
opens and shours an interior skin still, which enve-

THE PUPA OR CHRYSALIS.

121

lops tlie whole insect, the air rushes in, and getting
between the skin and body of the Gnat, shines like
quicksilver, thus producing an effect precisely ana-
logous to that which gives the shining, golden effect
to the chrysalides of the Vanessa tribe.

A description of the appearance of Butterflies
and Moths as first issuing from the chrysalis must
he deferred till the next ensuing Chapters, VII.
and VIII.

CHAPTER VII.

OF INSECTS IN THEIR PERFECT OR “ IMAGO ” STATE,
ESPECIALLY THOSE OF THE ORDER LEPIDOPTERA
— THEIR ESCAPE FROM THE CHRYSALIS — THE
SUDDEN GROWTH OF THEIR WINGS ON ISSUING
FROM THE SHELL, THE DURATION OF THEIR
EXISTENCE IN THE PERFECT STATE — AND THE
DESCRIPTION OF THE BUTTERFLIES ENGRAVED
IN PLATE II.

'N speaking of the transition of insects
from the chrysalis to the perfect state,
I shall confine myself principally to
that of Butterflies, Moths, and Beetles,
as exhibiting a much more striking change
than that of such insects as only undergo a
semi-metamorpliosis. It will be found,
indeed, that these, with a few of the order
Neui'optera , will always form the chief
attraction of an Insect Vivarium, and of these,
Butterflies and Moths will be the favourites, from
the great beauty of many of the larvae, as well as
the often striking forms of the chrysalides ; while

Plate II

1. J am ib— The Peacock Butterfly. 3. The Chrysalis of the Peacock Butterfly.

2. I lie Caterpillar of the Peacock Butterfly. 4. l’ulyommatus Alexis — The Common Blue Butterfly.

f>. The Female of the Common Blue Butterfly, showing the underside of the wings.

*1. A singular variety of the Common Bine Butterfly, with the wings of both sexes.

7. Die Caterpillar, and 8, the Chrysalis, of the Common Blue Butterfly.

o

I

INSECTS IN THEIR PERFECT STATE.

123

the larvae of Beetles are scarcely, if ever, handsome,
and the interesting chrysalis is only represented hy
a kind of earthy cocoon, though the nymph or pupa
within is sometimes covered with a cuticle destined
to he shed, like the horny husk of the chrysalis that
encloses the Butterfly during its pupa stage.

On first issuing from the chrysalis, insects are
seldom, if ever, of the colour they are destined to
assume afterwards. Bees and Elies, for instance,
are at first nearly white, hut very soon, under the
action of the atmospheric air, they assume the dif-
ferent colours which respectively distinguish them.
In Dragon-flies, the length of time required for the
eventual colouring to develop itself is especially re-
markable.* In Butterflies and Moths, however, the
markings assume a certain degree of intensity almost
immediately, — long before the wings have ex-
panded to their full extent, in their miraculously
rapid growth. The Privet Hawk-moth, for instance,
begins to exhibit all the intricate markings of its
wings in their proper colours, though not of their
full brightness, before they have yet attained
a fourth of their full size ; and the appearance of
the complete design of the full-grown wing, on
this reduced scale, is extremely beautiful and inte-
* See Chapter XI., on the Neuroptera.

124

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

resting, as I have endeavoured to show in a Moth
of this species just escaped from the chrysalis, in
Plate IV. No. 2.

A similar effect may he observed in the 'wings of
the Peacock Butterfly — the fine ocellated marks of
which have a very charming effect when in this
state ; forming an exquisite miniature model of the
grand and gorgeously tinted design they are so soon
destined to exhibit. These are the phenomena that
must he eagerly watched for in the Vivarium ; they
are among the most interesting spectacles it can
offer, and the student must therefore take care that,
for want of proper attention, they do not pass over
without notice ; for a few hours at certain seasons
maymake agreat change in a collection of chrysalides.

By careful observation, the colours, or rather
markings of the wings may he distinguished through
the shell of the chrysalis, which, as the time ap-
proaches for the insect to escape from its prison,
appear to become partially transparent — at all
events in some kinds of Butterflies — though the
more opaque pupa case of Moths do not so fre-
quently exhibit this kind of change. In Butterflies,
however, by this and other indications, the species
may often he detected through the shell of the chry-
salis. Moses Harris, one of our enthusiastic ento-

INSECTS IN TIIEIR PERFECT STATE.

125

mologists of the last century, detected, in the form of
a chrysalis which he had never seen before, certain
characters which induced him to believe that it
must be that of the Purple Emperor Butterfly,
though he had no idea either of the colour or form
of the . pupa of that insect. But he knew that in
the perfect state its under wings extend in an un-
usual manner beyond the upper ones, and in the
pterotheca, or wing case portion of the chrysalis, he
perceived a line, beyond the usual termination of
this feature, which at once induced him to declare
the chrysalis which he had reared to be that of
the Purple Emperor, Apatura Iris ; and he soon
afterwards began to perceive the well-known white
bands of the wings showing through the semi-trans-
parent shell. The old Lepidopterist expresses his
enthusiasm so genuinely on the occasion, that the
main features of the passage in which he relates
how he became possessed of the Caterpillars, and
how unceasingly he watched all their changes, are
well worth transcribing. The larvae were given to
him, it appears, by Mr. Drury, the well-known
English naturalist ; that “ ingenious Aurelian,” as
he is termed by his friend Harris, having, while
searching for caterpillars on the 26th of May, in
the year 1758, beaten them from off the Sallow,

126

THE BUTTERFLY YIVARIUM.

near Brentwood, in Essex.” Mr. Drury appears to
have thus captured four caterpillars, which were
entirely new to him, and to have presented them
to Moses Harris as the person most likely to rear
them successfully. “They were,” says our author,
“ different from any hitherto discovered, being
furnished with two horns like the telescopes of the
snail.” He then describes very minutely the food he
gave them, their growth, and their eventual change
to the pupa state, stating that the chrysalides were
of a “bright pea-green with a bloom of peach
colour.” After many other particulars concerning
one of these cherished chrysalides, he says, “ on
the 22nd of June, 1758, at eight in the evening,
to my unspeakable pleasure it produced the Purple
Emperor;” and he proceeds at once to express
his unbounded gratitude to Mr. Drury, giving to
that “ingenious gentleman” the credit of having
enabled him to discover “ the caterpillar of one of
the most beautiful flies in the universe, which had
hitherto escaped the search of the most skilful
and industrious Aurelians.”

The enlargement of the little wings with which
a Butterfly first issues from its chrysalis, as the
phenomenon must have been noticed by Moses
Harris, is amazingly rapid, hut it varies in different

INSECTS IN THEIR PERFECT STATE.

127

kinds. In most Lepidoptera the whole growth
generally takes place within an hour, often in half
that time. In others of that class, a whole clay is
sometimes occupied in the completion of the wing-
growth, as in the case of the Humming-bird Moth,
Macroglossa Stellatorum, and some others.

In the Ephemera , and also in Gnats, the expan-
sion may almost be termed sudden — a beautiful
provision, so ordered for the purpose of preserving
them from the risk they would run during a slower
process of wing-growth, as they first enter upon
their perfect state upon the surface of the water,
where they are not for a moment safe, after they
have emerged from the chrysalis, until their wings
are perfected.

The Ephemera exhibit a peculiarity, previ-
ously alluded to, consisting in a kind of moult,
almost as sudden as the growth of the wings.
No sooner are these insects able to fly, than they
flutter to some conveniently situated reed, and
there shed a skin or film which encased even the
wings, the parts covering which being furnished
with the same coating of minute scales as the
surface of the wings themselves ; so that when the
insect has, with extraordinary skill, issued from
this close-fitting vestment, the skin left behind is

128

TEE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

so exactly like the living insect which has just
quitted it, that when seen at a little distance it is
often mistaken for it by anglers seeking the fly for
a bait, until they are close upon it, and just about
to seize their fancied prize. Those who would wish
to hear more concerning this rapid growth of the
wings of insects on their escape from the chrysalis,
may consult, on this interesting subject, the works
of Carus, Herold, and Chabrier, where they will
find many curious details very fully and graphically
described.

With the exception of the wings, insects may
he said not to grow at all after they have passed
from the pupa state, and assumed their final form.
The bodies of some of the Syrplms tribe, however,
expand , as it were, in a very curious manner, after
they come from the shell, becoming rapidly twice
the size which they seemed at first. This ap-
parently sudden growth was first noticed by
Gcedart, and is explained by Reaumur in the fol-
lowing manner : — The pupa case of this class of in-
sects, and of common flies, is, as it is well known,
remarkably small in proportion to the dimensions of
the perfect insect. Within this very small apart-
ment, the abdomen, by means of its annular struc-
ture, is compressed to two-tliirds of its size ; hut

INSECTS IN THEIR PERFECT STATE.

129

no sooner is it relieved from this pressure, than
the elastic air it contains expands it to its full
dimensions, and hence the appearance of what has
been supposed a sudden growth.

On first taking flight, many insects, especially
Butterflies and Moths, exude one or more drops of
pinkish or sometimes deep crimson fluid, the na-
ture of which has not been explained. In certain
seasons, insects are known to come forth in vast
swarms ; and when, in their first flight, flights of
this kind drop these crimson globules, an effect
similar to that which fancy might picture as a
“ shower of blood” takes place ; a phenomenon
which produced in former times the greatest alarm,
being deemed an evil omen of the very worst cha-
racter, and the circumstance invariably led to prog-
nostications of the most alarming description. The
ridiculous superstitions attached to this pheno-
menon received their coup de grace , however, as
long ago as 1608, when Pereist announced his dis-
covery that the supposed shower of blood was pro-
duced, in a very natural way, by an unusually large
flight of Butterflies. The effects attending the emis-
sion of this crimson fluid by newly developed Lepi-
dopterous insects have also been described by
Jurine.

K

130

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

After having watched the long progress and va-
rious metamorphoses of an insect, from the egg to
its complete or final state, an interesting question
arises as to how long the perfected creatures are
destined to enjoy the existence for which such
elaborate preparations have been made. The
answer, from our imperfect knowledge and appre-
ciation of the wonderful code of the divinely
created laws of Nature, appears at a glance sin-
gularly unsatisfactory ; and when we are told that
the Ephemera?, after passing several years in their
preparatory larva state, are destined, in their per-
fect form, only to exist a few hours ! we are hut too
apt to express an ignorant surprise. Such sur-
prise, however, will not serve to explain the
mystery.

The common House-fly exhibits an apparent
discrepancy almost as great in the opposite direc-
tion. After passing most rapidly through the egg,
larva, and pupa states to the imago, in three or four
days, it lives several weeks in its perfect state ; and
those which come forth late in autumn even live
through the winter, though in a semi-dormant state,
to come from their retreats with the early spring
weather, and live a second period of their perfected
existence in another season.

INSECTS IN THEIR PERFECT STATE.

131

The common Cabbage Butterfly, Pieris Pras-
sicce , and the large Goat Motli, Cossus Ligniperda ,
both live about three weeks in their perfect state,
though their length of life in the larva stage is so
different ; that of the Moth being two, and some-
times three years, while the larva of the Butterfly
lives about as many weeks.

The female Moth, or Butterfly, generally expires
the moment she has laid her eggs, but it is said that
by keeping the sexes apart their existence may he
considerably prolonged. Several kinds, however,
such as the “ Peacock,” the “ Small Tortoise-shell,”
the “Bed Admiral,” and some others, naturally
live through the winter when they are of late au-
tumnal broods.

The change of the Beetle from the larva to the per-
fect state is much less striking than that of the But-
terfly, though the metamorphosis may he considered
very complete. After it has made its cocoon, or
sought the proper place to undergo the change,
however, the alteration of form is so gradual that
it can scarcely he considered to assume a special
pupa form like the Lepidoptero , in their chrysalis.
The larva of the Beetle, when the change com-
mences, becomes gradually shorter, the wing-cases
and wings begin to appear, and the legs, antennae,

132

THE BUTTERFLY VIYARIUM.

and abdomen to assume by slow progressive growth
their eventual forms. In this state the insect is
generally quite white, even when destined to become
the blackest of Beetles — and appears of the consist-
ence and colour of a skinned almond. It is not till
the full size of the wing-cases has been attained, and
till after their partial hardening to the proper horny
texture, that the insect is enabled to make its escape
from its cocoon, when it still remains, for some time
after its exposure to the air, nearly white; the proper
colour being, however, soon assumed. In the insects
which have no decided metamorphosis, the three
stages of larva, of active pupa or nymph state, and
the acquiring of the final form, are so blended one
into the other, that it is difficult to assign a special
period at which the one terminates and the other
begins.

Having now traced the course of several classes
of bisects from the egg, to the perfect or imago
state, I shall proceed at once to speak of Butterflies
in that phase of their beautiful existence. The term
imago was adopted by Linnaeus in extreme contra-
distinction to that of larva. The last-named term
expressing the idea that the caterpillar was a
masked * stage of existence, while in the winged

* See ante, page GT.

INSECTS IN THEIR PERFECT STATE.

133

state, tlie mask was finally removed, and the imago ,
or true “ image ” exposed.

The term Lepidoptera , adopted by the same
classifier for that large section of the insect family
comprising Butterflies and Moths, is, as before ex-
plained, from the Greek words, lepis, a scale,
making lepidos, scales, in the plural, and pteron ,
a wing, or rather ptera , wings ; from which we
may easily (dropping the s for euphony) construct
the word Lepidoptera , that is, those creatures
haying the wings covered with scales. Clairville
proposed to make the term Lepidioptera , hut the
author of the article “ Lepidoptera ,” in Cuvier’s
“ Dictionnaire des Sciences Naturelles,” expresses
his astonishment that M. Clairville should have
proposed such defective orthography.

Aldrovandus, one of the old Italian naturalists, a
contemporary of Shakespeare, adopted a similar idea
to that of Linnseus, as the best mode of distinguish-
ing Moths and Butterflies as a homogeneous order.
He classed them as those having alee farinosae , that
is, farinaceous or floury wings ; which is, however,
less correctly descriptive than the Limuean term
“ scaly-winged.” But Aldrovandus wrote before the
invention of the microscope, which has enabled later
naturalists to make such extraordinary progress in

134

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

describing the more mimite portions of insect
structure. The appearance of that instrument, in
fact, led almost immediately to the production of
such works as those of our own Dr. Hook, and several
similar publications by continental authors.

It will be observed that the system adopted by
Linnaeus, of classifying insects according to the
structure of their wings, was in some sort a return
to the methods of the earlier naturalists, to the ex-
clusion of that of his more immediate predecessors,
which was founded on the different kinds of meta-
morphosis ; a system which was, in fact, still pur-
sued by some long after his time.

Another recent naturalist, Labricius, rejecting,

like Linnaeus, the kinds of metamorphosis as a basis
*

of classification, and deriving his distinction from
the structure of the perfect insect, has yet not taken
the wings as the foundation of his method, but
having discovered that another peculiarity existed,
as distinct as that of scaled wings, which served to
keep the same class of insects equally separate from
others, took that feature as his distinctive character.
That feature is their peculiar proboscis or trunk ; and
using the Greek name of that member, he proposed
to substitute for the Linnaean term Lcpidoptera, that
of Glossata ; thus proposing to call Butterflies the

INSECTS IN THEIR PEREECT STATE.

135

tong ued tribe, instead of tlie scaly -winged tribe.
The Linnaean term and the Linnaean system have,
however, prevailed, as the names of all the insect
orders at once show by the universal termination
ptera (wings) — as Neuroptera , those with reticu-
lated wings ; Hymenoptera , those with transparent
wings ; JDiptera, those with only two wings ; and
so on, through all the orders, even to those without
wings, which are of course termed apt era , that
is, wingless insects.

Having examined the modern scientific terms by
which the order Lepidoptera has been distinguished,
we have next to consider the manner in which it
is subdivided. Linnaeus made three grand divi-
sions— Fapilio, which included the Butterflies, or
day-flyers; Sphinx , which included the Hawk-moths,
or twilight -flyers ; and Idhalana, which included all
the regular Moths, or night-flyers. These terms
have since been superseded as those of divisions,
though still preserved as the titles of simple genera ;
and in the grand divisions of the order, the form of
the antennae has been definitively adopted as the
best mode of forming the leading sections, now re-
duced to only two. Thus Hhopolocera includes all
the Butterflies, that is, those with clubbed antennae,
like those of Butterflies ; and lleterocera , those

136

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

with various kinds of antennae, such as are found
among Motlis — divisional terms which will he more
fully explained in the opening of the Chapter on
Moths, previous to describing Plate IV. In the mean
time, as the term Papilio was preserved by Pahri-
cius in his “ Sy sterna Glossatorum,” and is still used
to designate a “family” by the title Papilionidce ,
the first genus of which is still JPapilio — and as it is,
in the form of Papillon , the popular Prench name of
all Lepidopterous insects, it will not he uninteresting
to trace, if possible, its origin in its Latin form, as
well as that of other ancient names given to the
Butterfly family.

With the Greeks we find that the term Psyche
prevailed as the common name of the Butterfly,
heing the same word as that signifying either “ the
soul” or “the hreath of life.” It is thus evident
that the poetic Greeks must have closely watched
the career of the Caterpillar, toiling, like man, on
the surface of the earth for a time, and feeding on
its productions — and eventually burying itself in the
earth, or enclosing itself in a sculpture-like sarco-
phagus in apparent death, from which it arose, in
due time, a glorious winged creature, to enjoy
what seemed a higher kind of existence. Having
observed these singular changes, and the seeming

INSECTS IN THEIR TERFECT STATE.

137

resurrection after death, they called the Butterfly
hy the same name as the soul, and no doubt looked
upon the issue of the beautiful insect from the sar-
cophagus of the dead caterpillar as one among many
other extraordinary evidences of a future state after
death. In their personification of the soul, or human
spirit — among a series of divinities founded on a
system of embodying in divine forms the human
passions and aspirations, and even the general
powers of nature — they gave to the divinity repre-
senting the soul, the wings of a Butterfly; thus
carrying out the popular feeling ; and the deified
personage also bore the same name of the “soul.”
In the exquisite story of Psyche we may trace, also,
the poetic theory of a spirit gradually purified by
passions and misfortunes for the eventual enjoyment
of true and pure happiness.

Sir Humphry Davy, in his “ Salmonia,” a little
volume full of beautiful reflections, has a remark-
able passage on this subject, in which he refers to
the poetical view of the Greeks, and afterwards goes
on to dilate, in his own vein, on the transformations
of insects as remarkable evidences of the truth of
our belief in a future state for Man. “If,” he
reasons, “ an insect, recently a sordid worm, and
buried with no sign of life in the earth, should in

138

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

an instant be made entirely to change its form, and
rise into the blue heavens to enjoy the glorious sun-
beams, how much more easy does it seem that a
being whose most earnest pursuits here have been
after an undying name, and after the acquisition of
intellectual power and knowledge, should be raised
hereafter to a state of being where immortality is
no longer a name, and ascend to the source of un-
bounded power and infinite wisdom.”

I recollect being once very much struck with an
old print in which a Butterfly was represented as
fluttering out of the mouth of a dead body, that of a
Man, which appeared to have just yielded up its last
breath. I could not understand the meaning at the
time, but have long since known, that the old en-
graver, following out the Greek feeling, had intended
in that way to illustrate the separation of the soul,
or spirit from the material form.

There must also have been some other Greek
name for the Butterfly tribe, from which the com-
mon Latin name Fapilio is derived. It has been
suggested that this word was the same as Fapilion,
(ttcltuXlcov), which was a kind of tent* used by several
Numidian tribes. It was also that of the cloth

* The French term Pavilion, a tent, is thus derived, as our
own name for a small tent-like summer-house.

INSECTS IN THEIR PERFECT STATE.

139

of which the tents were made ; and this cloth may
have been made from the Papyrus plant and the
name have been originally Papayrion. At all events,
it seems probable that the appearance of a cloth-like
texture exhibited by the wings of a White Butterfly
may have led to the adoption of a name from this
or a similar origin, which may have been the root of
the Latin word Papilio, as used by Pliny to designate
the Butterfly. It has also been suggested that the
Greek term Papilion meant likewise a sail (perhaps
of a cloth like that of the tent), to which the wings
of the White Butterfly may justly he compared.
Indeed, at a later period of the Roman Empire,
when the term Papilio had long been established
as the popular name of the Butterfly, Yegetius,
in his work on the “Art of War,” dedicated to the
Emperor Valentinian, speaks of a kind of sails
which were doubtless, as explained in the glossary,
those which by their position resembled the wings
of a Butterfly, just as do the modern lateen sails
still used in the Mediterranean, which certainly
recall the form of those of the common White
Butterfly when about half expanded.

Thus it is pretty plain that we have received
from the Greeks both a poetic and prosaic term for
the Butterfly ; the first founded on the mystery of

140

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

its metamorphosis, the second on the cloth-like or
sail-like texture and form of the wings.

Our own term Butterfly — a term which exists in
the Saxon and Blemish in nearly the same form,
and with precisely the same meaning — has no doubt
arisen from a buttery kind of softness in the wings
of this class of insects, the surface of which, from
the nature of the minute scales, gives way under
the touch exactly as the surface of hutter does,
though from another cause. That a certain kind of
softness was often compared to hutter we have an
instance in the well-known passage in the Psalms,
“his words are softer than hutter;” — and many
similar examples might he cited.

The Trench term, Papillon, is directly derived
from the Latin Papilio, and applied both to Butter-
flies and Moths, the latter being merely dis-
tinguished as Papillons de omit , or night Butterflies,
the Trench language possessing no term precisely
equivalent to our “ Moth.”

Among the group of Butterflies represented as
established in our Insect Vivarium, in Plate II.,
the first is the well-known Peacock Butterfly,
Vanessa Io, whose brilliant colouring makes him a
general favourite. It was this Butterfly, more espe-
cially, whose wings were assigned to Psyche by the

INSECTS IN THEIR PERFECT STATE.

141

Greeks, as we know by the indication, on many
existing statues, of tbe beautiful ocellce or eye-like
spots, which distinguish both the upper and under
wings.

The best way of procuring fine specimens of this
beautiful native insect is to look among beds of
nettles, about the beginning of July, for the Cater-
pillars; which, clothed in their suit of rich sable
velvet delicately spotted with specks of white, as
with minute pearls, and ornamented with their
curious branching spines, are very conspicuous
objects, that may be distinguished even from a
distance in such situations, feeding in large com-
panies on their favourite vegetable; their colour
and number making them at once remarkable.
(See Plate II. No. 2.) Some of^ the nettles, not
the young shoots, but those parts with matured
foliage, should be placed in the Vivarium with
them, and they will always prefer nettles from
their native bed, some larvae refusing any foliage,
even of the same kind, except of the identical
plant on which they were hatched. Those of Va-
nessa Io , however, are not so particular ; they will
in general feed greedily if the food be fresh ; and,
after a certain number of times casting the skin,
will suspend themselves by the tail in their own

142

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

ingenious fasliion to undergo the change to the chry-
salis, which will remain suspended after the Cater-
pillar skin drops off, as represented at No. 3, in the
same Plate.

The small Bine Butterfly (No. 4) in the same
Plate, is one of our numerous Polyommati* , a pretty
genus, so named from the Argus-like number of
eyes, or rather eye-like marks, on the under side of
their wings. It is the species named JPolyommatus
Alexis, the common blue Butterfly. The Cater-
pillar of this pretty insect feeds upon different
plants of the trefoil family, the one engraved being
the cultivated Lucerne, Medicago Sativo, remark-
able, like all its genus, for the curious twisting of
the seed-vessels.

No. 5, in the same Plate, is the female of P.
Alexis, which wears a robe of matronly brown, in-
stead of the bright azure of its mate. Its wings
are represented as raised, in order to exhibit the
disposition of the eye-like markings which have
given the name to this genus.

At No. 6 is represented an example of a cu-
rious aberration which this family is subject to.
It is an individual of the species JPolyommatus
Alexis, having on one side of the body the azure

* From polus (tto\v s) many, and omma (o/x/xa) an eye.

INSECTS IN THEIR PERFECT STATE.

143

wings of tlie male, and on the other the dusky
brown ones of the female. This curious mon-
strosity is not very infrequent. I once had a
specimen myself, and have seen several in the col-
lection in the British Museum, and elsewhere. The
appearance, however, is so singular, that I had
great trouble in getting the drawing cut by the
wood-engraver as I had drawn it, the block having
been sent back to me when half engraved, with a
note stating that I had forgotten to finish one pair
of wings of the small Butterfly No. 6.

A similar misapprehension occurred in an Article
on this family of Butterflies which I contributed to
the “ National Magazine,” illustrated with a draw-
ing of this curious lusus nciturce. The engraver
was, in that instance, so convinced of a mistake,
that without troubling me on the subject, he ac-
tually set one of his draughtsmen to make both
the wings match, and it was so printed, before I
discovered the extraordinary correction to which my
work had been subjected.

The Caterpillar of this species, which is one of
the onisciform or Wood Louse-shaped kind, is re-
presented at No. 7, and the little chrysalis at
No. 8 in the same Plate.

It may be observed here that the male 'Poly-

144

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

ommatus Alexis is a most pugnacious little fellow,
often engaging successfully in combat with, the
large Red Admiral, or rather “ Admirable ,” for so
the popular name of this large and handsome in-
sect is spelt by Moses Harris, who was no doubt
thoroughly “up” in the popular nomenclature of our
native insects at a period when many of the names
were first conferred.

In the next Chapter, I shall give an account of
other kinds of British Butterflies that may be
reared in the Insect Vivarium, but more especially
of those represented in Plate III.

Plate III

1. The Caterpillar of the Great White Butterfly. fi. The Chrysaljs of the Clifden Blue Butterfly.

2. The Chrysalis of the Great White Butterfly. 0. Polyommattu Jlrfoiiw— The Clifdeu Blue Butterfly.

8. rin-is Bratticce— The Great White Butterfly. 7. The Female of the Clifden Blue Butterfly.

4. The Caterpillar of the Clifden Blue Butterfly. 8. Pdyommntue Corydon — The Chalk-hill Blue Butterfly.
0. The Chrysalides of the Ichneumon in the Caterpillar of Great White Butterfly.

146

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

wings. It might seem to a fanciful reasoner, that
feeding exclusively on the “delicate juices of flowers,”
the Butterfly becomes like them in form and aspect,
as though a general tendency existed in all things
to produce their similitude. Gerard, the quaint
old herbalist, had evidently some such notion,
when rhapsodizing, after his peculiar manner, on
the influence of flowers, he is led to make his re-
flections on these beautiful insects ; and he does
not stand alone in his notion, for in a foot-note
to one of the “Letters of Gilbert White,” by
Mr. Mitford, we find the annotator asking the
question whether the circumstance mentioned by
Mr. Pegge be true, “ that Butterflies partake of the
colour of the flowers they feed on.”

Without overstraining the fancy to create re-
lations and sympathies which do not exist, there is
sufficient analogy between floral and insect deve-
lopment to allow of many poetic associations, such
as need not trench upon the positive domain of fact.
The egg of the parent insect is, both in aspect and size,
much like the seed of a plant ; and in its principle
of life the seed exhibits a still stronger resemblance,
inasmuch as it contains within it the already trace-
able forms of the future tree or flower. Then, the
cotyledons, or “ seed leaves,” as they have been

THE GREAT WHITE BUTTERFLY.

147

termed, are as different from tliose of tlie future
tree as is the form of the Caterpillar, as it first
issues from the egg, to that of the perfect insect.
In the plant, the leaves precede the flower, which
is a higher form of development, just as the Cater-
pillar form precedes the more perfect or blossom-
form of the insect. Then, it is that final, complete,
or blossom-form which, both in the plant and the
insect, is alone destined to reproduce the germ or
egg from which another plant or insect will in its
turn be developed; and it may be asserted that
similar, if not such clearly defined, analogies are
traceable in every kind of organized existence.

There is not a more genial and pleasing sign of
opening summer than the first appearance of the
Great White Butterfly. The delicate flakes of
creamy white that form the wings of this beautiful
insect are evidently unfit to contend with the rude
winds and storms of winter; they are those of a
creature of early summer, and we hail their appear-
ance as an assurance that its bright and balmy days
have at last commenced.

The new visitant is even more attractive than
the early flowers, and the urchin cowslip -gatherer
lays down his half-completed nosegay to pursue
and capture the newer attraction. In its seem-

148

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

ingly objectless and careless Sittings, bow skilfully
it eludes tbe grasp of its pursuer, without effort or
any apparent contrivance, always escaping just by
a liand’s-breadtli, and gaily fluttering on till we are
glad to see the little hunter fairly beaten, and watch
with secret satisfaction his return to his deserted
handful of flowers.

But though so many take a general kind of in-
terest in the common White Butterfly, Tier is Bras-
sicce, and hail his advent with pleasure, as a harbinger
of the coming time of our brief but beautiful sum-
mer, there are few who have taken the trouble to
examine his aspect in detail, and acquire more
definite ideas respecting his beautiful structure.

I would call upon such to notice, on the earliest
opportunity, first, his slender antennae, tipped with
those peculiar little knobs which distinguish the
antennae of Butterflies from those of the Moth
tribe. Then the delicate tube which serves to ex-
tract the juices from the deep nectaries of flowers,
and which is held so gracefully coiled beneath the
palpi till its use is required. I would next call at-
tention to the creamy white surface of the wings,
and the microscopic beauty of the feather-like scales
by means of which that surface is formed; and
next, to the dark tone of the tip of each of the

THE GREAT WHITE BUTTERFLY.

149

anterior wings, wliicli gives sncli striking relief to
the softness of the almost snowy cream-colour, into
wliicli it is softened by several shades of ashy gray
that might seem the work of a skilful artist, if
pencil could be found sufficiently delicate for the
work. A similar shade of gray, but paler, occurs
at the base of the wdngs near the body, and then
there is a delicate streak of orange down the front
edge of the wing, and a careful observer may note
that in some specimens, such as in that represented
in our Plate, for instance, the middle of the upper
wings, which are often perfectly immaculate, are
marked with two conspicuous black spots, shaded off
with gray like the patches at the tips. The student
need not be ashamed of coming to the decision
that those marked in that manner are probably a
distinct species, nor of being told that they are not
so, and that they are simply the females who have
been favoured with this' extra decoration — a fact
which stands in rather curious contradistinction to
the more general prevalence of superior beauty in
the markings of the males. The tyro need not be
ashamed, as I have said, of imagining the different
markings of male and female Butterflies to be the
signs of distinct species, for the great Linnaeus,
before him, fell into a similar error on more than a

150

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

single occasion ; one of his mistakes of this kind,
in reference to a species of the present genus Fapilio ,
having been only recently corrected by the aid of
recent discoveries of fresh specimens of both sexes.

The underside of the wings of the common White
Butterfly are as vrell worthy of remark as the
upper, and they are in many respects different in the
markings. The black tip of the anterior wrings on the
upper surface, for instance, is replaced underneath
by a similarly shaped mark of delicate yellowish
buff ; and the underside of the posterior wings is en-
tirely of this warm yellowish buff colour, so minutely
powdered with black specks that it requires some
care and an eye accustomed to close observation
to detect this extra and seemingly superfluous
decoration. These are but a few of the delicate
beauties that might be pointed out in the common
White Butterfly, whose dress to common eyes is
simply white, and nothing more.

The specimen figured in Plate III. may be sup-
posed to be a female, captured in the first days of
May, and placed in the Vivarium just as she was
ready to deposit her eggs. This she will in most
cases do, undisturbed by her new position.

The common White Butterfly was the one se-
lected by Swammerdam as well fitted to illustrate

THE GREAT WHITE BUTTERFLY.

151

liis history of “ an animal within an animal, or
the Butterfly hidden in the Caterpillar.” The
minute dissections and observations of this inde-
fatigable naturalist, had for their main object the
definite and positive proof of the natural production
of insects from eggs laid by parents of the same
species, and of the perfectly natural progression in
the so-called “ metamorphoses” of insects; and it is
not possible to conceive a more complete refutation
of the old theories of spontaneous generation, and
absolute “ metamorphosis,” than the richly illus-
trated essays which he published as the result of
his labours.

The eggs of the captive Butterfly, when observed
under the microscope, will he found to accord pre-
cisely with the description given of them by Swam-
merdam. A tolerably strong glass will exhibit
the oval form with fifteen small longitudinal ridges
converging to the centre of the smaller extremity,
the spaces between them being also divided cross-
wise by regular grooves or channels. We may sup-
pose the eggs to have been deposited by the parent
upon the small leaves of a branch of cabbage just
going into flower, which should he furnished for the
purpose, and kept fresh by placing the stalk in one
of the little water bottles.

152

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

In a few days the eggs will be hatched, the
minute Caterpillars coming forth, already variegated
with green, yellow, and black, as in their full-grown
state, though the markings are so minute as to be
rather indistinct to the naked eye. In about three
weeks or rather more, and after casting their skin
several times, these Caterpillars will have attained
their full size, and in that state they are remarkably
handsome, as shown at No. 1, in Plate III.

When thus full grown they will cease feeding,
and secure themselves with a loop of silken web
round the middle, for changing to the Chrysalis
state, as already described. The Chrysalides so
secured in some convenient situation, will form
pretty objects in the Vivarium for a period of from
seven or eight to sixteen days, according to the heat
of the weather. (See Plate III. No. 2.) After that
time the back of the Chrysalis will split by the ex-
pansion of the insect within, as described in Chapter
VII., and the student will enjoy the interesting
spectacle of the escape of the perfect insect from its
prison, with all its attendant phenomena. The
females of the brood produced at this time (that is,
in July) lay eggs in their turn, the Caterpillars of
which do not attain their full growth and enter
upon the chrysalis stage till late in the autumn ;

THE GREAT WHITE BUTTERFLY.

153

so tliat the insect within, unstimulated by the
summer warmth, remains in the dormant or pnpa
state all through the winter, to come forth in the
first genial days of May. It is said that very late
broods of Caterpillars, not full grown before the
cold weather, are able to hybernate in a similar
manner ; and it is asserted by several naturalists
that those Caterpillars of the common White But-
terfly which are destined to outlive the winter are
sometimes so completely frozen as to break, when
bent, like a strip of glass, and yet recover their
usual state with milder weather, without apparently
having received any material injury. There are,
indeed, many species of the Caterpillars of Moths,
the late broods of which live through the winter in
a similar manner, and which will be described (if
space should permit) in the Chapter devoted to that
section of the order Lepidoptera.

Many young entomologists, in the first season
of their experience, have been very much surprised
by an apparent metamorphosis in the Caterpillar of
the Cabbage "White Butterfly, of an entirely different
character to that which they naturally expected to
take place. This singular phenomenon could hardly
take place with Caterpillars hatched within the Vi-
varium ; but we will imagine that a few have been

154

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

taken from tlie garden as particularly fine speci-
mens, and added to those artificially reared. It is
very probable that one out of four or five so added
would exhibit the curious transformation about to
be described. The Caterpillar in question, not pre-
senting any appearance of an unusual character to
the inexperienced eye, will suspend itself for changing
in the usual manner ; hut when the student is ex-
pecting the skin of the larva to he thrust off by the
expansion of the Chrysalis within, it is simply rent
or spread open, and a number of small cocoons of
yellow silk are seen attached to its inner surface.
Each of these cocoons contains a small oval Chry-
salis, from each of which in a few days (if the
Caterpillar was of the early brood) a small Ely will
issue, whose scientific name is Micro g aster Glom -
meratus. Thus from the body of a single Caterpillar
issues a whole flight of little Elies, creatures belong-
ing to quite a distinct class of insects. This must
indeed have been an inexplicable surprise to a young
entomologist in his first season of experiments, and
one which would almost induce him to throw over
the discoveries of Swammerdam and Reaumur, and
return to the theories of spontaneous generation
— thus proved, as it seemed, under his own
observations.

THE GREAT WHITE BUTTERFLY.

155

The unremitting and watchful researches of na-
turalists have, however, fully explained the seeming
mystery, and in its explanation brought to light
another wonderful provision in the beautiful economy
of Nature, by means of which the balance of num-
bers in many classes of animal life is preserved or
restored. Mr. Haworth observes that in dry seasons
the larvae of the White Butterfly multiply in such a
manner as to commit great havoc, but that the same
causes produce also an unusual number of the
small Ichneumon fly, Microg aster Glommercitus ,
whose instinct it is to pierce the skin of these Cater-
pillars in several places, depositing an egg in each
incision. These eggs, rapidly hatched by the in-
ternal heat of the body of the victim, produce small
footless grubs which live upon the fatty portions
only of the Caterpillar’s body, who continues to feed
more voraciously than ever for their supply, as
though unconscious of the presence of the destructive
intruders. When, however, the time for change
arrives, and the Caterpillar slings itself up to pass
to the next stage of its existence, the larvm of the
Ichneumon rapidly consume all the remaining in-
terior, leaving nothing but the external skin, which,
when they have perfected their cocoons for under-
going their own change, is burst by their increased

156

THE BUTTERFLY YIVARIUM.

bulk, exposing the little oval masses of yellow silk,
as shown in Plate III. No. 9.

Thus the more than usual number of this Cater-
pillar are kept clown in certain seasons, and many
other kinds of Caterpillars, equally likely to be
produced occasionally in great numbers, have each
their peculiar Ichneumon, some of which actually
attack the Caterpillar in the egg state, as described
in a previous Chapter.

Having learnt something of the short biography
of the White Butterfly, and the vicissitudes to which
its existence is subject, the young entomologist
must not fancy that he now knows all about White
Butterflies. I must suggest to him that there are
many other kinds, quite distinct from that just
described, which are equally worthy of his careful
attention. Pirst, there is a species closely resem-
bling Pier is Brassicce , but invariably smaller, and
which generally appears full a fortnight earlier than
the larger species. This kind, though by some con-
sidered only a permanent variety, is by most ento-
mologists accepted as a distinct species, to which
has been assigned the name of Pieris Chaniclea.
In this species the fringe at the edges of the wings
is yellow, the dark patch at the tips of the anterior
wings grayer, and the huff-colour of the under sur-

THE GREAT WHITE BUTTERFLY.

157

face of the posterior wings deeper and more con-
spicuously freckled with minute black specks. The
black markings of the Caterpillar are somewhat less
distinct than in the large kind.

Other kinds of White Butterflies are, however,
of a much more distinct character, though formerly
considered the same. There can, however, be no
doubt of their forming entirely distinct species, and
the student would find it interesting to obtain a
thorough knowledge of all the species of the whole
genus JPieris in his first season, as an exercise of his
powers of accurate discrimination.

First, there is Rieris Rapes, once thought by
ignorant collectors to be the young of the Great
White Butterfly, while it is now well known that
insects having once attained their perfect state
never grow. It is, however, certainly very like the
“ Large White,” but still, having very obvious marks
of distinction, quite unmistakable when once de-
tected ; the male, for instance, instead of having
the centre of the anterior wings quite immaculate,
has one bright black spot on the upper surface, and
two, less conspicuous, on the under surface ; the
female having two small spots like the female of the
larger kind. The Caterpillar is still more distinct
than the perfect insect. It is dusky yellow under-

158

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

neath, and of a soft velvety green above, with a
narrow yellow stripe down the centre of the hack,
and no black markings whatever. It is more
injurious to cabbages than even the Caterpillar of
B. Brassicce, as it feeds upon the young internal
leaves of the heart, and has been thence termed by
the [French the Ver du cceur.

There is a variety of this species, by some called
Bieris Metro , which is smaller still, and having the
white of the upper side more dusky, and the buff on
the underside of the hind-wings very much deeper
in colour ; indeed, almost brown. In other respects,
with exception of a supposed greater degree of slen-
derness in the form of the wings, it does not differ
in appearance from Bieris Bapce. The Caterpillar
has not yet been observed.

Another species, Bieris Napi , is still more dis-
tinct than B. Bapce , its popular name, the “ Green-
yeined White,” indicating one of its main distinc-
tions from either of the preceding species ; with
this very remarkable difference, it very closely re-
sembles B. Bapce, but the beautiful bright green
mottlings, on either side of each of the veins on the
under surface of the liind-wings, forms an all-suffi-
cient distinction. The Caterpillar may be distin-
guished from that of B. Bapce, which it closely

THE GREAT WHITE BUTTERFLY.

159

resembles, by being without the narrow dorsal line
of yellow.

There is a smaller and darker variety of this
kind, the Caterpillar of which is at present unde-
scribed, in which the green mottlings of the under
sides of the hind- wings are of a much deeper green,
nearly approaching a tone of olive-brown.

But the rarest and most beautiful of the genus
Fieris is that rarely-captured prize of the col-
lector, Fieris Daplidicee , popularly known as the
Bath White, and which is only taken in the vicinity
of the sea. The tips of the front or upper-wings are
marked with a small patch of bright black, che-
quered with squarish blotches of white, and in the
centre of the same wings is a largish black mark,
divided by a white vein, these marks being green on
the under surface. The hind-wings are semi-trans-
parent, showing the shadowy form of the bright
green markings which decorate their under surface.
The Caterpillar is green, with fine stripes of yellow,
between which the green is spotted with black.

In other genera there are also species of “ White
Butterflies,” which the careless observer might
confound with the Common Whites of the genus
Fieris. Bor instance, Fuel doe Car dimines, the pretty
“ Orange-tip” — the female of which, being without

160

THE BUTTERFLY VIYARIUM.

tlie broad orange mark at the points of the fore-
wings, might be mistaken for the male of Pier is
Napi. But then the form of the wings is much
rounder, and the green mottling of the under sur-
face of the hind-wings is much more scattered over
the whole wing, and not confined to the edges of the
veins, as in P. Napi ; while in the male the beautiful
orange mark is an all-sufficient distinction. Then
there is the pretty little “ Wood White,” Leptoria
Candida ; much smaller than any other of our White
Butterflies, and with much narrower though more
rounded wings. It is of a soft creamy white both
on the upper and under surface, except at the tips
of the anterior wings, which are ornamented with
a soft roundish blotch of deep blackish-brown, quite
different in form to the similarly- situated markings
in the genus Pier is > the blotch being rounded con-
vexly towards the body, while those of all the
species of Pieris are concave in their internal out-
line.

There is yet another kind of White Butterfly,
which, like the last two, is also of a distinct genus,
though so similar in general aspect, till closely
examined. It is a rare insect in this country, known
as the Black-veined White (. Aporia Cratcegi). It
may be easily distinguished by the semi-transparent

THE GREAT WHITE BUTTERFLY.

161

appearance of the wings, and their bright black
veins, which are quite free from the downy coating
of scales which usually conceals them in other spe-
cies; the veins of the female are brown. These
veins are especially remarkable where they form the
external boundary of the wing, which is entirely
without the silky fringe almost invariably found in
all the families of Butterflies.

Brora the foregoing series of brief descriptions,
it will be seen that a great variety of beautiful in-
sects would, by the careless observer, be considered
as no more than ordinary White Butterflies,
although such an observer might incidentally notice
that at some times or seasons the insect' appeared
a little smaller or a little larger, a little darker or
a little lighter, than usual. Perseverance for a
short time, however, in habits of accurate observa-
tion would soon render the most careless in such
matters no longer contented with vague conclusions,
and tend generally to give to the mind a more defi-
nite tone of thought, not only in matters connected
with natural history, but also on all other subjects.

The pretty Blue Butterfly in the upper part of
Plate III., Polyommatus Adonis, is the most delicately
toned of all the Argus, or Polyommatus tribe. It
is of the purest possible azure, without the slightest

M

162

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

tinge of violet ; of a most lovely, shining, silvery
aznre; the white fringe and black line within it
giving an exquisite finish to the delicate effect of the
light blue. The female is deep brown, with only a
slight flash of blue ; hut, in exchange for the bright
azure of the male, she has a pretty orange border,
with black spots at the edge of the hind-wings.
The underside, nearly alike in both sexes, is similar,
though handsomer, to that of the more common
F. Alexis , figured in Plate II., Nos. 4, 5, and 6.

This has always been one of the most coveted
prizes of our entomological weavers — intelligent
working-men who enjoyed the study of insects long
before the beautiful works of Kirby and Spence, and
others, made it popular among the superior classes.
At the close of a week’s ceaseless toil, the Spital-
fields weaver would, after work hours, take his net
and collecting-case, and trudge off his score of
miles in the long summer evenings to Darenth or
Birch Wood, arriving time enough to capture a
rich harvest of twilight-flying Moths, without fear
of interruption from lords of the manor or their
gamekeepers; for, as Crabbe says, in one of his
inimitable poems —

“ He fears no bailiff’s wrath, no baron’s blame ;

His is untaxed and undisputed game.”

THE GREAT WHITE BUTTERFLY.

163

Daniel By cider was once one of the most indus-
trious of these collectors, as Mr. Westwood informs
us, and was employed by Dr. Leach, at that time
one of the principal curators in the British Museum,
to collect for him in the New Eorest, where he was
so fortunate as to discover and capture for the first
time in England the rare insects Platypus Cylindrus
and Cicada Anglica. He was also the first among
the weavers to attempt a scientific arrangement
of his collection, hut many afterwards followed his
example ; and they have now a scientific society of
their own as “Practical Entomologists,” with a
well- arranged collection, and general meetings on
fixed evenings, like those of the more ambitious
associations of the richer classes.

The Caterpillar of the Polyommatus Adonis, or
Clifden Blue, as it is popularly called, is not well
known, but is certainly of the kind termed onisci-
forni, or Wood Louse-shaped, like those of the whole
Argus family. It has been described by Eabricius
as being green, with rows of fulvous spots along
the back.

The Caterpillar of an allied species, JPolyommatus
Cory don, engraved in this Plate (PI. III. No. 4), will
give a good idea of its general appearance. Poly -
ommatus Cory don , figured just below in the same

164

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

Plate (No. 8), is one of the largest of our Blue
Butterflies, and one of the most distinct in colour —
the blue being almost entirely subdued about the
middle of the wings by a metallic gloss of silvery
white, verging on pale straw-colour ; while at the
borders all four wings become nearly black, with a
border of still deeper-coloured dusky spots. The
female is deep brown, having an orange border with
black spots at the edge of the bind-wings, and in
the centre of all four wings a speck of white.

The small chrysalis of this species is shown
lying on the ground (No. 5), immediately beneath
the White Butterfly ; but it is said to be generally
found attached to the wild thyme.

Plate IV

1. The Caterpillar of the Privet Hawk -moth.

2. The Shell of the Chrysalis ofthc Privet Hawk-moth.

3. The Privet Hawk-moth, just emerged from the Chrysalis.

•t. Sphinx Liyustria—lhe Privet Hawk-moth In Its perfect state.

CHAPTER, IX.

OF THE SECOND AND THIRD DIVISIONS OF THE
ORDER LEPIDOPTERA, ACCORDING TO LINNiEUS
AND OTHERS ; AND OF THE MODERN SUPPRESSION
OF THE SECOND DIVISION. — OF THE TRANS-
FORMATIONS OF SPHINX LIGUSTRI, THE PRIVET
HAWK-MOTH, AND OTHERS OF THE FAMILY THAT
MAY BE REARED IN A VIVARIUM.

LL that is necessary to be said in a popular
f, wor^ 011 term Lepidoptera,
and also of its value as defining
^ very accurately the beautiful
' order of insects on which it has been con-

\ | ferred, is contained in the Chapter describ-
P ' ing Plate II. Having now to describe
the second section of that “ order,” this
appears the proper place for stating, in a few
words, the nature of the scientific distinctions
which serve to separate that class of Lepidoptera
generally known as Butterflies from those popularly
termed Moths.

166

THE BUTTERFLY YIYARIUM.

Linnaeus made, as it has been stated, three
grand divisions of the order Lepidoptera , the first
of which he named Fapilio , containing all the
Butterflies, or day-flyers ; the second Sphinx , con-
taining all those which were generally supposed to
fly hy twilight ; the third Fhalcenct , or the night-
flyers ; our true Moths.

In the formation of the last two of these terms,
as in many others of his “ Systema Naturae,” he is
extremely imaginative and fanciful. The first he
simply adopted as the ancient Latin term hy which
Lepidopterous insects in general, hut more espe-
cially Butterflies, were denominated; the second,
however, he founded upon a fancy of his own, that
the Caterpillars of the Hawk-moths, which com-
pose that division, had — in a position which is pe-
culiar to them, when the body is stretched along
a branch, and the head and three first segments
raised — somewhat the appearance of the fabulous
sphinx, as we find its form interpreted in Greek
sculpture. The third name, Phalama , in which he
included all the rest of the Moth family, he appears
to have derived from the Greek word ^aXcuva,
which means either a Glow-worm or any insect
giving out light, and thus rendered conspicuous hy
night ; or, an insect which flies towards a candle at

LEPIDOPTERA.

167

night. He appears to have accepted the term in
its last meaning, or at all events as having refer-
ence to creatures more remarkable by night than
day, which might very fairly be applied to that
section of the Moth family generally considered
to fly during the night, and to remain dormant
or concealed during the day.

Latreille accepted the principle of division by
the time of flight which had been thus put forward
by Linnaeus, but abandoned the fanciful terms of
the great Swedish naturalist, and adopted more
descriptive ones ; calling the first division Dmrna ,
or day-flyers, from the Latin diurnus , meaning that
which is done in the daytime, or belonging to the
day; the second, the Crepuscularia, or twilight-flyers,
from the Latin crepusculum, the twilight ; and the
third, the Nocturnci , or night-flyers, from the Latin
nocturnus, appertaining to the night.

It has since been found, however, that the time
of flight is not an infallible method of distinction,
except in the first class, several species, both of the
second and third classes, having been found to fly
by day as well as night. The principle recently
proposed by Hr. Boisduval to separate the order
Lepidopterci only into two great classes, founded
on distinctions of the antennas, has therefore been

168

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM. .

very generally adopted. The first division he
makes ffliopolocera, or those with clubbed an-
tennae, from the Greek ropolon (porroXov'j, a club or
knob, which includes the whole of the Butterflies ;
all the genera and species of the family being dis-
tinguished by a small but well-defined knob at the
end of each antenna. The second division he calls
Heterocera , consisting of all such as have various
kinds of antennae, from the Greek eteros ( erepo 9), dif-
ferent or dissimilar. This definition includes, very
naturally, the whole Moth family, the various
genera of which have many different kinds of an-
tennae, but in no instance knobbed or clubbed ones,
like those of Butterflies. We possess, as I have
stated before, in our popular nomenclature, two
terms which serve as very excellent general dis-
tinctions for these two grand divisions, Butterflies
and Moths; while the Trench language has no
popular term corresponding to our Moth, the place
being supplied by the compound word JPapillon cle
nuit , or Night-Butterfly.

The popular English term “ Moth” did not ori-
ginally refer to the perfect insect, but rather to the
larva, more especially that of the common House-
moth. It is derived from the Saxon mob , which
belongs to the same root as the Scandinavian

LEPIDOPTERA.

169

matha , a worm or grub ; and the term “ Moth-
eaten” is sufficient to prove that the term “ Moth”
originally applied to the larva and not to the per-
fect insect, as in the winged state Moths are not
furnished with mandibles which would enable
them to devour cloth, or any substance of that kind.

In describing the Hawk-moths and other Moths
in Plates IY. and V., I shall have occasion to point
out the peculiarities of the antennae, by means of
which the whole Moth class is so distinctly divided
from the Butterfly section of the order. Moths
have the antennae or feelers generally tapering
from the base to the point, which in some in-
stances is as slender as a hair. The class of
Sphingidce , however, to which the Privet Hawk-
moth engraved in Plate IY. belongs, have the an-
tennae slightly thickened towards the end, though
decidedly not clubbed , as in Butterflies ; as may be
seen by referring to those of any of the Butterflies
in Plates II. and III. This thickening of the ex-
tremities of the antennae in the Spiling idee, or
Sphinx family, has naturally caused them to be
placed next the Butterflies, as a kind of link be-
tween the two divisions ; and it may be noticed,
en passant , that in some of the group, especially
in the genus Deilephila , the thickening towards the

170

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

end of tlie antennae is much more remarkable than
in the case of the Privet Hawk-moth. There
is an exotic group, in which the approach to
the Butterfly character is still more decisive, but, as
containing none but foreign insects, it need not be
more particularly referred to here.

Though the names of the great Linnaeus, Sphinx
and Thal&na are no longer used as the titles of great
divisions, they have been respectfully preserved in
other positions. Papilio is still the name of the
first genus of Butterflies though not of the whole
diurnal division, and forms also the family title of
a number of genera closely allied to Papilio, as
Papilionidce ; while Sphinx , though no longer dis-
tinguishing all the supposed twilight -flyers, is still
the title of a genus the Caterpillars of which first
suggested the term ; and also of a family group of
the most nearly allied genera, as Sphingidce.
Even the still more fanciful term Phalcena lias
been partially retained in a similar manner.
I must now proceed to describe the transforma-
tions of the Privet Hawk-moth, as shown in
Plate IV. I have supposed the magnificent Cater-
pillar to have been captured on some privet hedge
in the garden of the student towards the close of
summer. The conspicuous appearance of this larva,

LEPIDOPTERA.

171

with its dorsal horn or tail, peculiar to the larvae of
all the Sphingidce , and its diagonal stripes of violet
and white on a ground of bright apple green, could
not fail to attract the notice of any one in search of
insects. I have therefore imagined the prize captured
and placed in the Vivarium, and there provided with
a fresh sprig of privet, placed in one of the water-
bottles every day to furnish fitting food. Such a
Caterpillar attains its full growth towards the
end of August or beginning of September, when it
wfil be found to leave off feeding. After a little
uneasy rambling, and having become of a dirty red
colour, it will then proceed to burrow into the earth
to undergo its change. It should he left undisturbed
in its subterranean retreat till the following June or
July, when the large brown chrysalis may he taken
out and placed in a moist and shady part of the
Vivarium, where the first symptoms of the cracking
of the pupa and the appearance of the Moth may
he conveniently observed. It is true that this dis-
turbance of the nest and of the natural position
of the pupa may in some degree interfere with its
perfectly healthy development, hut yet the spec-
tacle of the exit of the Moth from its prison must
not he lost ; and we will suppose that a few other
chrysalides of the same kind are still left in the

172

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

earth to undergo their final change in a perfectly
natural manner, for where there is one Caterpillar,
others are sure to he found if properly sought for.

To return to the coming forth of the Moth. The
first symptom will be the appearance of a crack, and
then a wider opening down the hack of the chry-
salis ; as this widens, the head and thorax of the
Moth will be seen struggling to extricate them-
selves, the antennae still closely packed under-
neath. By the assistance of the legs, when once
freed, the whole of the body is soon drawn
out, and the insect generally remains for a
short time on the external wall of his prison to
rest after his exertions. The wings are at that
time still smaller than those represented at No. 3
in Plate IY. ; but as the newly-formed Moth
gathers strength and creeps away from the empty
shell, as shown at No. 2, it begins to lift its wings
gently, and their growth becomes very rapid, show-
ing every marking in a minute form, as in an
accurate miniature model.

Every movement of the newly-born “ imago ” is
now highly interesting, till at last the full propor-
tion of the fine wings is attained, and the truly
splendid insect attempts to take its first flight, as
shown at No. 4 in the same Plate.

LEPIDOPTERA.

173

There are many other Moths of the Sphinx
tribe equally remarkable, both in size and general
aspect, the transformations of which might with
equal success he made the subject of observation in
the Vivarium. The Sphinx Convolvulus , for instance,
in certain seasons when it is abundant, as in 1856,
when, after having been for a long time one of the
collector’s greatest rarities, it was observed in con-
siderable numbers. The Caterpillars of the Poplar
Hawk-moth, Smerinthus JPopidi, which are some-
what less in size and devoid of the violet tone in
their lateral stripes, may he found each season if
well looked for, as well as those of the Lime Hawk-
moth, Smerinthus Tilice , and also those of the
handsome Sphinx Ocellatus , all of which must
he searched for towards the close of summer or
beginning of autumn.

Then there is the giant of the Sphingidce9 the
well-known Death’s-head Moth, the splendid larva
of which should always he procured if possible.
This fine insect, the only English species of the
genus Atropos , deserves describing at some length.

My attention was especially recalled to this
magnificent insect by the discovery in my garden,
about the middle of September last, of a remarkably
fine larva, of unusual size even for this large species.

174

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

It was turned up while digging potatoes, on the
foliage of which (its favourite food) it had evidently
feasted till full grown, and then buried itself in the
earth to undergo its change to the chrysalis and
eventual winged state. I immediately made a
careful drawing of the Caterpillar, to add to my
collection of drawings of that kind. When fully
extended, it was more than five inches in length,
the colouring being a bright apple-green, shading to
yellow as it approached the dark diagonal stripes.
The three sections next the head, and the one next
the tail, were of a bluer green than the rest of the
body, and devoid of the small black tubercles that
are thickly sprinkled with symmetrical precision
over the other divisions. The dark diagonal stripes
of rich violet have a streak of white behind them,
and shade off in front to a pale bluish tone. The
spiracles, or breathing pores, situated above each
foot, are black, surrounded by a ring of white, while
the singular caudal appendage, or tail, is of a dull
orange. When in motion, this beautiful Caterpillar
exhibits its markings to great advantage; the
alternate extension and compression of the ridges
of each segment giving a beautiful play to the
maculations, almost such as one observes in the skin
of the Tiger when he paces his den with that sin-

LEPIDOPTERA.

175

gular undulating motion peculiar to the feline
race, and noticeable even in the domestic Cat. I
find myself making this comparison without any
reference to one of the popular names of this insect
— the Great Tiger Hawk-moth — a name given in
consequence of the black stripes which mark the
tawny body of the perfect insect.

• After making my drawing, I took the mea-
sures which I thought most likely to insure the
successful metamorphosis of this remarkable crea-
ture to its pupa and winged states.

I had heard that many attempts to rear a perfect
Moth from the Caterpillar of this species had failed,
the insect almost invariably perishing in the pupa
or chrysalis stage. Thinking that this might be
caused by the over dryness of the earth in which it
was placed, or, at all events, from its not retaining
the same constantly equal state of moisture that
would exist at the depth to which the Caterpillar
generally burrows, I took the following precautions :
A large flower-pot being selected, I stopped up the
hole with a cork, taking care to pass a quill, open
at both ends, through the cork, to serve as an
escape-pipe for superfluous wet, and yet not being
large enough to allow of the escape of the
Caterpillar.

176

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

Having put in a layer of pieces of broken pots,
to secure sufficient general drainage, the pot was
nearly filled with light garden mould, and the insect
having been placed at about the mid-depth, a piece
of strong canvas was then tied tightly over the pot,
when the pot was plunged up to its rim in a shel-
tered part of the garden.

About a fortnight afterwards I carefully re-
moved a portion of the mould in the pot, and had
the satisfaction of discovering near the bottom a
well-formed chrysalis, nearly three inches in length,
which moved briskly on being touched. I covered
it up quickly, hoping very shortly to be gratified by
the sight of the perfect insect issuing from the
earth; for this singular species is said to emerge
from the pupa almost immediately, that is to say,
within a few weeks, instead of remaining during the
winter in its chrysalis state, like others of the
Sphinx family, and, indeed, nearly all our large
native Moths. Week after week went by, however,
without any sign; at length, after three months
and more had passed, I again uncovered the chry-
salis, fully expecting to find it rigid and dead ; but,
to my surprise, it was still alive, which leads me to
suppose that the early broods of this insect may
undergo their metamorphoses the same season,

LEFIDOPTERA.

177

while a later brood may remain in the pupa state
through the winter. I have not yet, therefore (even
in April), given up the hope of obtaining a mag-
nificent specimen of the giant Acherontia Atropos.

I have more than once used the term giant in
reference to this insect, for the Death’s-head Moth «
is indeed of noble proportions, and by far the
largest of our native Lepidoptera. It owes both
its popular and scientific names to the singular
resemblance of the markings on the anterior part of
the body to a human skull — a peculiarity which
also gave rise to the superstitions connected with
its appearance, for this harmless insect has always
been considered a creature of ill omen.

Linnaeus, who classed it with the Sphinx family,
following out his fanciful scheme of specific deno-
mination, named it Sphinx Atropos — Atropos
being, according to Hesiod, the Date whose
special business it was to cut the thread of life, spun
and directed by her sisters, Clotlio and Lachesis.
Modern naturalists, finding it necessary to
separate the species Atropos from the genus
Sphinx , though still retaining it in the Hawk-moth
family, have preserved the specific name con-
ferred by Linnaeus, and added a generic one of
corresponding character. This name, Achcrontici ,

N

178

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

that is to say, pertaining’ to the river Acheron, one
of the streams which, according to the Greek my-
thology, had to he passed on entering the infernal
regions, was intended to embody, after a classical
fashion, the popular superstition that death — or, in
other words, the speedy passage of the fatal stream
in question — was foretold to the unlucky individual
favoured with a visit from one of these insects
hearing the mark of the ominous skull between its
shoulders. Thus its modern name, Acherontia
Atropos , may he interpreted as the Acherontian
messenger of Atropos.

The singular manner in which the Moth emerges
from the earth, on its escape from the pupa, has no
doubt strengthened the superstitious notions con-
nected with it ; and it may be easily imagined that
in a more ignorant age, when a creature so pecu-
liarly marked was dug up at a considerable depth,
or seen emerging mysteriously from the earth, that
singular forebodings might arise. Latreille states
that it appeared in great numbers one season in
some parts of Brittany, during the time that an
epidemic happened to be raging, and that the fatal
character assumed by the disease was popularly
believed to be entirely owing to the appearance of
these dreaded insects.

LEPIDOPTERA.

179

A low wailing sound emitted by this Motli may
also have added to these superstitious terrors. The
mode of producing this sound has given rise to
many hitherto futile discussions among naturalists ;
and it has been supposed to inspire terror in insects
as well as men, for it is known that while pro-
ducing this low wailing cry, it will fearlessly enter a
beehive, and rifle the cells of their honey, in de-
fiance of the seemingly paralysed Bees. Sometimes,
however, the robber is boldly attacked and stung to
death, in which case a singular display of instinct
not unfrequently takes place. The Moth having
died with extended wings, it is found impossible to
eject him by the opening of the hive, which he had
entered with his wings partially closed ; and the
Bees, apparently aware that the decay of so large a
body within their dwelling would render it unhealthy,
proceed at once to coat it with wax, and thus, as
it were, embalmed, the Moth remains in its waxen
sere-cloth, perfectly innoxious for any space of time.

The exotic species of Acherontia , distributed over
nearly all parts of the globe, are inferior both in
size and beauty to our native insect ; and in no in-
stance are the curious skull-like markings on the
thorax so well defined as in the European Death’s-
head Moth.

180

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

I would recommend tlie young curator of an
Insect Vivarium to try liis luck eacli season in tlie
rearing of this splendid Motli from the Caterpillar
state, as it is the only way of procuring really line
specimens of the perfect insect, which, if of unusual
size, would cost something like a guinea each, but
which may thus be added to a collection at the cost
of a little care, and the gain of much instruction
and amusement.

The Caterpillars of the genus Eeilephila, also of
the Sphing idee, or ITawk-moth family, must he dili-
gently sought for, especially those of tlie beautiful in-
sect Deilephila Euphorbia (the Spotted Hawk-moth),
which in certain seasons have been found so plenti-
fully on some parts of the coast of Devonshire as to
attract birds from a distance to feed upon them.
They are very conspicuous, both for then size and
colour, and feed upon the Euphorbia Ear alias, or
Sea-spurge, which grows in great abundance in
the neighbourhood of Barnstaple. Mr. Baddon,
the well-known eminent engraver, who was also an
enthusiastic entomologist, published at that time an
interesting account of this larva in all its stages,
accompanied by a fine illustrative plate. Mr.
Baddon states that in 1814 these Caterpillars were
so plentiful in the neighbourhood just referred to,

LEPIDOPTERA.

181

that lie found no less than one hundred minute
larvae upon a single armful of Spurge which had
been cut at dusk on the preceding evening.

It is said that there is considerable difficulty in
rearing these larvae successfully, so as to obtain
perfect specimens of the Moth ; and Mr. Westwood
informs us that the late Mr. Euseli, the Hoyal
Academician, who, like Northcote, was a zealous
entomologist, was only able to obtain a single
perfect Moth from twenty Caterpillars, all of which
appeared to have entered the pupa stage in a healthy
condition. Though extremely rare, or at all events
capricious in their appearance in England, the chry-
salides, or eggs, or young Caterpillars might he
obtained any season from the Continent ; and with
the convenient appliances of the Insect Vivarium,
I feel convinced that any one would, with due care,
obtain a much more successful result with a hatch
of Caterpillars than that arrived at by Euseli, in
whose time the conditions necessary to ensure com-
plete success were much less perfectly understood.

Eggs or pupae of the Oleander Hawk-motli
( Chirac amp a Nerii) should also he procured from
the Continent ; the exquisite tinting and intricate
maculations of pink, green, and olive on the wings
of the perfect insect rendering it one of the most

182

THE BUTTERFLY YIVARIUM.

beautiful of the Sphinx family. It is occasionally
found in England, but some have thought that the
specimens of this fine Moth taken at Dover in 1833,
and at Brighton more recently, may have been
blown over from the Erench coast. Its claim to
be accepted as a native species is, however, better
founded in the capture of one of the Caterpillars,
which was discovered in a garden at Teignmouth. If
eggs or Caterpillars of the Oleander Ilawk-motli are
obtained from the Continent, they should be fed on
some plant of the Vinca family nearly allied to the
Oleander, and more particularly on the lesser Peri-
winkle, which was plentiful in the garden at Teign-
mouth, where the solitary English Caterpillar was
found.

There is much to tell of the form of the Cater-
pillars of this genus, and the derivation of their
name, with many other interesting particulars.
But I am compelled to pass rapidly to the considera-
tion of a few of the most remarkable of the larger
Moths of the other groups, just suggesting, before
quitting the Moths of this and the more nearly
allied kinds, that the collector should look after the
wood-boring larvm of the Clear-wings, such as the
Hornet Hawk-moths, Sphecia Apifortnis and S.
Zembeciformis. Also those of the other Clear-wings,

LEPIDOPTERA.

183

especially tliose of tlie Bee Hawk-moths, Sesia Bom-
byliformis and S. Fuciformis , which are much more
like the ordinary Caterpillars of the Spiling idee than
those of the Hornet Hawk-moths, and feed upon
different kinds of Galkm. These Moths will at first
appear to a casual observer much more like Bees
or Hornets than Moths, from their wings being
without the usual scales, and consequently trans-
parent, except at the borders. The detection of the
indubitable characteristics which mark them as true
Moths will serve as useful lessons to the student in
acquiring habits of accurate observation.

CHAPTER X.

DESCRIPTION OE THE MOTHS AND TIIEIR CATER-
PILLARS IN PLATE VJ, AND OE OTHER MOTHS
AND CATERPILLARS SUITABLE EOR THE VIVARIUM.

Iff OST conspicuous, by far, among tlie British
Moth tribes are the Hawk-moths. I
|^v have devoted an entire Chapter to their
consideration, yet without being able in
that space to do more than give a toler-
ably full account of two species only,
with a few brief remarks on the rest of
the family.

In the present Chapter, therefore, which is all
the space I can allot myself in this volume to speak
of the other families, genera, and species of British
Moths, it is evident that it will only be practi-
cable, in addition to those represented in Plate V.,
to select for description some half-dozen species
belonging to widely different families, leaving the
reader who desires a more intimate knowledge of

1’liAT K V

1. The Caterpillar of the Puss-moth.

2. Centra Vinula — The PusB-moth.

3- The Caterpillar of the Lohstcr-moth,

4. Stauropus Fagi—The Lobster-moth.

r>. Lampyris Nodiluca-Thc Female Glow- worm

0. The Male Glow-worm.

MOTHS AND THEIR CATERPILLARS.

185

our native Moths to seek it in works more especially
devoted to the subject.*

The Caterpillar, Plate V. No. 1, is that of
Centra Vinula , the Puss-moth. It is a very re-
markable larva, both in form and colour, and at-
tracted the attention of many of our early natu-
ralists long before entomology existed as a science.
Old Isaac Walton, the accomplished angler, whose
biographies of George Herbert the well-known
poet, and others of his cotemporaries, are sufficient
proof that his taste and skill were not confined to a
successful exercise of the gentle craft of the rod
and line, has given in one of those charming little
outbursts of his love of Nature that occur con-
tinually in his book on angling, an elaborate de-
scription, exquisite in its nice perception of form
and colour, of this Caterpillar, the name of which
he did not know, but which is so faithfully described
that it is impossible to mistake it.

Though so singular in form — the anal pro-
legs being absent and replaced by two curious tail-
like appendages — and also so remarkable by its
size and tinting, it is by no means rare ; indeed it

* In my “ Genera of British Moths,” now publishing in
monthly parts, by Mr. Jerrard, 171, Elect Street, the young
student will probably find all the information he requires.

186

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

may be said to be absolutely abundant, though
those who have not schooled themselves to watch for
the occurrence of such objects during their country
walks may never have seen it. The two horn-like
appendages at the tail have been taken as the cha-
racter of the genus, the name of which, Cerura , is
founded on the Greek word /cepas} a horn or
antenna. I once reared a large brood of the larvae
of Cerura Vinula , from eggs laid by a female
which I had captured in the perfect state ;
and the appearance of the little Caterpillars when
first hatched, as well as in their different stages, was
very interesting. The markings and general
appearance as to colour changed several times,
and even in their full-grown state differed very
considerably ; some having the saddle-shaped mark
on the back beautifully tinted with white and pink,
while in others the same portion, as shown in
Plate V., was entirely of a dark olive, variegated with
delicate veinings of black. The Caterpillar is found
about August, feeding on Willow or Poplar, and
when full-grown burrows in dry ground or loose
rubbish to undergo its change to the pupa state,
orming a cocoon of small chips or other matters
glued together so compactly that it is difficult to
make any impression npon it with a sharp knife ;

MOTHS ANT) TIIEIR CATERPILLARS.

187

tlie perfect insect appearing in the beginning of the
following summer.

The Moth, represented in the same Plate
(No. 2), is very prettily waved and brindled with
shades of gray, not unlike the markings, when
well defined, of a gray tabby cat. This, with the
furry character of the body, which is of the same
colours, and marked in a similar manner, has ob-
tained for it the popular denomination of the Puss-
moth, under which name it has long been a
favourite with young collectors. There is a variety,
by some thought a distinct species, in which the
body is whiter, and marked on the thorax with little
black points like those of ermine, from which it has
received the specific name of <c JErminia

The antennae in this genus are in both sexes
bipectinated, that is, formed like a double comb,
gradually attenuating to the point. This is one of
the various forms of antennae never occurring
among Butterflies, which has caused the whole of the
Moth tribe to he classed in one division as hetero-
cera, from having variously formed antennae, while
those of Butterflies are of one constant form, as we
have seen, with a small club at the extremity.*

It would form an interesting task to a young

* See page 1G8.

188

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

collector to endeavour, in his collection of larvae
and perfect insects, to complete the genus Cerura ,
of which there are four or five distinct species,
some say seven, all about half the size of the great
Puss-moth or the Ermined variety, These smaller
species are popularly called “ kittens;” Cerura
Bicuspis , the first of the small species, is a very
pretty Moth, the ground of the wings white, with
a broad band of deep gray-brown bordered with
black across the centre of the anterior wings, and a
narrower hand, broadest at the front and narrowing
to the hack, nearer to the edge. The last-named
hand is slightly scallopped, and there is a row of
dots at the edge of both front and hind-wings ; the
hind-wings being in other respects white, with only
a slight shadowy hand of gray towards the edge.
Then there are C. Integra , C. Furcula, C. Arcuata ,
C. Latifascia , C. Bifida , and C. Fvscinula, each
distinguished by some tolerably well-defined charac-
ter. They have all been considered distinct species
by continental entomologists, and some of them have
been found in England, while the reported cap-
ture of others is disputed. The Caterpillars have
all the curiously forked tail-like appendages at the
end segment instead of the usual last pair of legs ;
and one or two of the kinds are far from uncom-

MOTHS AND THEIR CATERPILLARS.

189

mon. As some of tlie species are disputed as Bri-
tish, it would he interesting to settle the matter by
their capture, or rearing them from the Caterpillar
state.

The Caterpillar in Plate Y. No. 3 is that of the
rare Moth Stauropus Fagi. It is popularly called
the “Lobster,” and is more unusual in form and
general appearance than even the one last described.
The pectoral legs, instead of being of the usual short
proportion, terminating, after two very short joints,
in a horny point, as in those of the Puss-moth
Caterpillar just referred to, are lengthened in a most
extraordinary manner, so as to exceed in length even
those of the perfect insect — a peculiarity that does
not exist in any other British Caterpillar. The
form of these curiously angulated legs, which in
some positions suggest the idea of a crossed palisade
or chevaux-de-frise , has no doubt given rise to the
generic name of Stauropus , from the Greek words
stauros (araypos) , a palisaded fence, and pous (grov
a foot.

The popular name of “Lobster” is, however,
more graphically descriptive, as the skin, or rather
shell, of the Caterpillar has a shining surface, and
varies from a kind of fawn colour to a tone ap-
proaching the rich scarlet of a boiled lobster. The

190

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

overlapping of the skin in the last segments of tlie
body, which are generally bent over the hack, serves
to complete the resemblance, being very similar to
the scale-like jointing of the lobster’s tail. Like
the Caterpillar of the Puss-moth, the anal pro-legs
are absent, their position being occupied by two
horn-like appendages, the use of which is not known.
The long pectoral legs, however, are said to lie
necessary to the larva in the formation of its some-
what peculiar cocoon, the texture of which is not
unlike that of tissue paper. It will he observed
that the first pair of these singular legs, next to
the head, are very slender, and to a certain extent
rudimental, the full development being confined to
the second and third pair. This formation, how-
ever, disappears in the perfect Moth, in which the
six legs are equal. There is a curious analogy
with this arrangement in the legs of certain Butter-
flies, as in those of the genus Vanessa , described in
Chapter VII. ; but in that instance it is the front
pair of legs of the perfect insect that are rudi-
mental, while in the Caterpillar state theic is no
indication of such a peculiarity.

The “ Lobster” Caterpillar feeds on Vagus Syl-
vatica, the Common Beech, and also on other lorest
trees, as Alder, Hazel, Sloe, etc. It is found in

MOTHS AND THEIR CATERPILLARS.

191

autumn, and the Moth appears in the following
June, haying passed the winter and spring in the
chrysalis state within its comfortable papyrian
cocoon. The perfect Moth, Plate V. No. 4, pre-
sents nothing so particular in its aspect as one
might expect from the extraordinary formation of
the Caterpillar, but the antennae are one of the
many examples of the variety of forms to which
this feature is subject in the Moth tribe. They are
only pectinated , that is, toothed like a comb for
about three-fourths of their length, the extremity
being smooth, and terminating in a fine point — a
feature which is not very well expressed in my
illustration. In the female, the antennae are en-
tirely devoid of pectinations — a characteristic which
we shall find very general in many families of
Moths.

This Moth is very rare, the localities of its
occurrence being nearly all in the south of England.
I recollect an enthusiastic entomologist telling me
once how he captured a specimen fluttering round
one of the lamps on Clapham Common, and the
dangers he incurred in the adventure. Eirst, in
order to have any chance of securing the prize, it
became absolutely necessary to climb the lamp-
post. When this had been effected, not without

192

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

some damage to liis knees, and a good deal of
exertion, lie lield on by the ladder-rest with his left
hand, while with his right he made the best use of
his hat, in which, after many unsuccessful sweeps,
he had at last the satisfaction of making good his
capture, and he slid down the iron post in triumph.
He had scarcely reached the ground, however, when
he found himself in the arms of a stalwart police-
man ; but he was at first too much absorbed to pay
much attention to this interruption, and shaking
himself free, all but his collar, which the policeman
kept a firm hold upon, he proceeded to secure the
treasure, and place it in his small collecting-case,
which he always carried with him, regardless of the
persistent questions of the policeman as to “what
he meant by damaging the lamps ?” “ what he was
after?” and many other forms of interrogation in
which the official continued to indulge. At last,
just as he was depositing the tin-case in his breast-
pocket, the policeman put his question either in a
form more intelligible to the excited entomologist,
or in a way that appealed more forcibly to the set of
feelings just then in most powerful action, “ What
have you got there?” he said. This was a plain
question, and to the point ; for the entomologist well
knew “ what he had got there,” and, with a smile

MOTHS AND THEIR CATERPILLARS.

193

of triumphant satisfaction, replied at once — “A
lobster !” This was deemed by the official a piece
of impertinence not to be submitted to — perhaps
some new bit of slang that he was not “ up to ” —
and so he determined to take the lamp-breaker and
his “ lobster” to the station-house; and it was not
till after considerable explanation, backed, I be-
lieve, by a metallic form of argument more current,
and generally more potent than words, that “ 58 G”
allowed my entomological friend to depart in peace
with his prize.

It occurs to me here to suggest that the esta-
blishment of an Insect Vivarium would offer an
excellent opportunity for rearing some specimens
of the beautiful Endromis Versicolor from the e<?a\
This Moth, popularly known among collectors as the
“Glory of Kent,” from its being rarely found except
in one or two localities of that county, and even there
very sparingly, has recently been taken in great
abundance in the north of Scotland, among the Birch
forests of a remote part of Perthshire. It is more
especially in the woods of It anno cli that this great
entomological “find” has taken place; and I saw
in the cases of Mr. Turner, the professional collector,
after his return from his successful tour, several
dozens of splendid specimens, male and female, of

o

194

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

tliis fine insect, which had been hitherto deemed one
of our greatest entomological rarities.

Eggs were brought from Bannock last season by
another professional collector, Mr. Harding, of York
Street, Shoreditch, who announces, in the “ Entomo-
logists’ Weekly Intelligencer,” * that he has been
successful in rearing a number of larvae from the
eggs of last season. The Vivarium would afford
unusual advantages for rearing these beautiful
Caterpillars, which somewhat resemble those of the
Sphi/ngidce , but that the oblique lines at the sides
lean in the opposite direction. Eggs might, no doubt,
be procured either from Mr. Turner or Mr. Harding;
and the pleasure of seeing this fine native insect,
hitherto so rare, in all its stages, would amply
repay any time or care bestowed upon the necessary
arrangements.

In speaking of recent additions to the list of our
native Moths, though I have only room to name a
few of the most conspicuous, I must not omit the
handsome new Burnet Moth, Anthrocera Minos ,
taken in the west of Ireland, which has the crimson
markings of its wings much larger than in the
common kinds, and of a wedge-like form, instead of
being oval spots.

* For April 8, 1858.

MOTHS AND THEIR CATERPILLARS.

195

Such discoveries as these seem strange after our
entomologists have been so long hard at work. It
might, indeed, be thought that their persevering
investigations during the last ten or twelve years
would hardly have resulted in the detection of any
conspicuous native insect left unregistered and de-
scribed by their industrious predecessors ; and yet
new species are turning up every season. At one
time it is Mr. Doubleday, at another, Mr. Stephens,
at another, Mr. Douglas, who in turn bring to
light some fine insect to be added to the British
catalogue. The most recent discovery is that of
the fine Moth Petcisia Nubeculosa , never before
found in England, and very rarely on the Conti-
nent, which has recently been captured in Scotland
by Mr. Cooper, of Liverpool, and since by Mr. Eox
of London. So great was the excitement on the
occasion of this entomological surprise among the
enthusiastic cultivators of the science, that one of
the first specimens was positively sold for the sum
of £7 ! It appears that Mr. Cooper had gone to
Scotland to collect, unusually early in the season,
so early, indeed, that few specimens of the insect
he was in search of had appeared ; but he was re-
warded for his disappointment by finding himself
just in time, it being the middle of March, for the

19G

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

appearance of a species the very existence of which,
in the British Isles, he did not even suspect. The
capture of the first specimen of JPetasia Nubeculosa
was, indeed, quite a triumph. The only other
British species of this genus is JPetasia Cassinia,
a much smaller kind, popularly known as “ The
Sprawler;” a name which has been given also to
the new species, Avhich is already spoken of as the
“ Bannoch Sprawler,” from the fact of its having
been first captured at that place.

The Caterpillar is found in April, and feeds on
the Birch; it is therefore inferred that the noble
Birch woods of Balmoral, a closely neighbouring
region, may be found abounding with this hand-
some native insect, which has hitherto been sup-
posed to be confined to the Continent. Esper has
figured it in his valuable work as a native of
Erance and Germany. It was during the same
season that JEndromis Versicolor was found in
such abundance in that part of Scotland, while
in the localities hitherto recorded as places of its
capture — the woods of Bent and some of the
southern counties — it has almost disappeared. It is
presumed that both these entomological prizes are
to be found in the extensive Birch woods of Bal-
moral ; and if so, there is but little doubt that the

MOTHS AND THEIR CATERPILLARS.

197

Prince Consort and the Prince of Wales, who are
both collectors, have already been out in search of
them, and most likely with complete success.

But although there is all the pleasant excite-
ment of novelty about these discoveries, we must
not in an Insect Vivarium forget the old-esta-
blished favourites. There is, for example, the
handsome Caterpillar of the Lackey -Moth, so
called from the stripings of red and white, on a
gray ground, that have the effect of the lacings on
the rich livery of a lackey. This larva may always
be found in great abundance, indeed it is a real
garden pest in June. It is a sad destroyer of the
foliage of fruit trees, but will form a very pretty
addition to the Vivarium; and the Moth, Clisio -
camp a Neuslria, can scarcely be procured in any
other way, for it is exclusively a niglit-flyer, and
its flight is extremely rapid.

Then there are the fine fur-clothed Caterpillars
of the genus Lasiocampa, a name formed from
the Greek words lasios (\ao-ios), hairy, and campe
(tcafnre') 9 a caterpillar. Nearly all these are very
handsome, and should be carefully looked for.
Among them is that of Lasiocampa Quercus, the Oak
Egger Moth. The name of “ Egger” having been
popularly conferred in consequence of the Cater-

198

TIIE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

pillar forming with great regularity a cocoon of egg-
like form. This fine large Moth differs considerably
in the colouring of the males and the females, the
males having the base of the wings, next the body,
of a rich dark brown, in which is a white spot ;
beyond, which is a broad, border, reaching to the
edge, of bright yellowish ochre ; the female is still
larger, hut of paler colouring, exhibiting only two
shades of fawn, and the antennae are simple, in-
stead of being pectinated like those of the male.

If the collector should he fortunate in securing a
female of this species, he may capture as many males
as he wishes ; for on going out Avith the captive
female into any locality in which these Moths are
found, the males Avill immediately appear, some-
times in considerable numbers, and are occa-
sionally so hold that they will MIoav the box
containing the female even into the pocket of the
collector, or into any trap he may contrive for their
capture. Then there is Lasiocampa Rubi, the Pox
Moth, of similar hut more ruddy tone and colouring,
the Caterpillar of which forms the long semi-trans-
parent cocoon previously described. This Caterpillar
is clothed with rich foxy fur, the joints of the
segments, when stretched out, looking like inter-
stices of black Arelvet.

MOTHS AND THEIR CATERPILLARS.

199

Early in tlie spring the common Caterpillar of
the Tiger-moth will he found abundantly. It is
well known to village children as the c£ Woolly
Bear,” and is remarkably handsome. These Cater-
pillars will form their cocoons in June, and the
Moths will appear in July. This Moth ( Arctia
Caja) is one of the handsomest of our native insects.
The upper-wings are of a soft pale cream colour,
beautifully varied with large solid patches of warm
brown. The form of these patches varies consider-
ably, sometimes being so large and close as to make
nearly the whole wing brown, and arc at other times
so scanty as to leave the cream-coloured ground
almost pure. These extreme varieties are, however,
very rare, and it is well worth rearing a number of
the Caterpillars in order, if possible, to obtain them.
The under-wings and body are of the most vivid
scarlet, with fine markings of purple black.

These brilliant colours, combined with the size
of the Moth, sometimes three inches across the
expanded wings, render it, though one of the
commonest, at the same time one of the most re-
markable of our native Moths; and it is particularly
adapted for the Vivarium, as it appears to have but
little desire to fly, beyond seeking its mate, and in
the day it remains perfectly quiescent, with the

200

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

wings lialf closed, in which state it forms a most
beautiful object.

As early as the first signs of herbage begin to
clothe the banks in spring, the Caterpillar of another
of the genus may be found, that of Arctia Villica ,
the “ Cream-spot Tiger,” a Moth which, though less
in size, is perhaps still more attractive in colour.
The Caterpillar, however, is far less beautiful, being
of a dull black, and only partially clothed with the
fine fur that distinguishes its relative.

The Tussocks , or Tasselled Caterpillars, must not
be neglected, as they form very beautiful objects for
the Vivarium, especially those of the Vapourer-
motli, of the Dagger-moths, and of Dasychira Tu-
dibunda , the Pale Tussock, the last being a most
beautiful straw-coloured Caterpillar, with tussocks
of pale orange, and showing at the opened segments
interstices of the intensest black.

The most interesting among the transformations
of the “ Tussocks ” are perhaps those of the “Va-
pourer-moths,” Orgy a Antigua and Orgy a Gonos-
tigma. In both these species the female is wingless,
and so unlike a Moth in general appearance that a
tyro in entomology would not dream of placing it
in the order Lepidoptera , as it has neither scales, nor
winffs to bear them. The males of these Moths are

O

MOTHS AND THEIR CATERPILLARS.

201

distinguished by beautifully pectinated antennae,
while those of the females are only in the form of
two minute hairs.

The Shark-moths, so named from their grayish
tone, and the shape of their wings like the sharp fin
of a shark, have very handsome Caterpillars, which
should be looked for on the Verbascum , where their
delicate blue- green colour, varied with yellow and
black spots renders them conspicuous, and enables the
collector to recognize them at once from other kinds.

The Caterpillars of the JPlusia family must not
be omitted — not for their own beauty, for few
of them are remarkable, but for that of the
Moths, which, when they first come forth from the
chrysalis with their fine markings and patches of
gold, bright as real metal, are most strikingly beau-
tiful objects, as some of their popular names imply.
There is, for instance, “The Beautiful Golden Y,”
the form of that letter appearing in gold on the an-
terior wings, “The Burnished Brass,” “The
Scarce Burnished Brass,” “The Gold Spangle,”
and others.

Then, making another great skip, we come to
some other large and beautiful species, the Mormo
Maura , for instance, or Old Lady, and the magnifi-
cent genus Catocala , or Bed Underwings.

202

THE BUTTERFLY YIYARIUM.

These last I must pause to consider for a mo-
ment, hut in this place space will not allow of
many details, though they are among the- gems of a
collection of British Lepidoptera. Birst comes the
“ Clifton Nonpareil,” or Lilac Underwing, Cato-
caliis Fraxini , four inches across the wings ; the
capture of which, by Mr. S. Stephens, in his garden
at Hammersmith, I well recollect his describing to
me. It was taken sitting at rest on the hark of an
apple-tree which had been sugared by way of bait,
a means by which many rare Moths may be taken.
Then there is the Common Bed Underwing, also a
fine large insect, three inches and a half across the
extended anterior wTings, the under-wings being of a
rich warm crimson, barred with black; and Cato cala
iSponsa, with the under-wings rather deeper and less
bright in colour. The two somewhat smaller spe-
cies, C. Fromissa and C. Conjunct a, are perhaps
still richer in colour, and more strikingly marked
on the ashy fore- wings than the larger kinds. They
are, at all events, notwithstanding their inferior
size, well worth rearing in the Vivarium. The Ca-
terpillars of the commoner kinds, which are much
flattened on the under side, and have the edge
fringed with a fine line of hairs, or ciliae, are easily
procured; but that of Fraxini, unless imported,

MOTHS AND THEIR CATERPILLARS.

203

will prove a prize beyond the reach of most
collectors.

Then there are the curious Caterpillars of the Geo -
metrce , well worthy a place in the collection for their
singular method of locomotion, and the curiously
stiff positions in which some of them remain, having
all the appearance, from their singular colour and
surface, of pieces of dried stick. Some very handsome
Moths — as the Currant-moth, the Peppers, and
others — exhibit this formation in their larvae, and
many species of them have wingless females, some
of which are such very singular creatures that none
but entomologists would ever guess them to be Moths.

Then there are the Caterpillars of the “ Proces-
sionary Moth,” so called from the curious habit
which the Caterpillars exhibit infollowing each other,
step by step, in whatever direction the caprice of the
leader chooses to conduct them. In the entomo-
logical department of the British Museum there

was recently to be seen a living brood of these cu-

*

rious larvae, which exhibited their processional in-
stincts quite undisturbed by the artificial position
in which they found themselves. But as I shall
have occasion to speak of these larvae again when
describing the best methods of rearing foreign
species, iTnust not say more of them here.

CHAPTER XI.

OP DRAGON-PLIES AND OTHER INSECTS BELONGING
TO THE ORDER NEUROPTERA.

^TyEUROPTERA is the general term
n applied to tlie interesting tribe of
“ Dragon-flies,” and other families of
insects, in. consequence of the beautiful
system of delicate nervures by which
A their large transparent wings are
n -vi strengthened and supported. These
neurations, as exhibited in the wings of the
^ Dragon-fly class, form a most intricate net-
work, or rather lace-work, which at once appears a
sufficiently remarkable distinction to form the basis
of a natural order which might receive the name
“ Neuroptera” a term formed of the Greek
words, neuron (yevpov ), a nerve, and ptera (prepa),
wings. There are, however, a few insects in-
cluded in the order in which this peculiarity is so
concealed by a clothing of small coloured scales,
like those of the wings of Moths, that some have

*

Plate YI

1. Uiu Larva of the Common Flat-bodied Dragon-fly. 3. The Larva of the Purple-winged Dragon-fly.

2. IAbcUula Dcpressa The Common Flat-bodied Dragon-fly. 4. Caloptcryx Virgo— The Purple-winged Dragon-fly.

5. The Purple-winged Dragon-fly escaping from its Chrysalis.

6. A variety ol the Purple-winged Dragon-fly.

7. 8, and 0. The Larva of the Common Lady-bird, or Lady-cow, devouring the aphides on a rose leaf.

10. (occinclla Dispur— The Female, commonly called the Six-spot Lady-bird.

11. Coccineila Dispar — The Male, commonly called the Two-spot Lady-bird.

■>

DRAGON-FLIES, ETC.

205

thought of removing this section of Neuroptera
to the order Lepicloptera ; however, other cha-
racters seem to dispose the majority of entomolo-
gists to retain them in their present situation in
the order Neuroptera. Prom this it will he seen
that a general system of classification is not very
easily carried out in all matters of detail without
encountering many discrepancies, for the endless
varieties of nature have evidently not been cre-
ated with a view to the convenience of ticketin'?
and labelling in cabinets. We must therefore be
content with the best systems of classification we
can get, and be contented with the immense assist-
ance they afford us in our studies, without longing
for “ perfect ” ones, which are impossible.

The Dragon-fly family, as containing the most
conspicuous class of Neuropterous insects, and
more especially, such as are likely to add variety
and interest to Vivaria by the singularity of
their transformations, must receive our almost ex-
clusive attention in this Chapter, though one or two
other genera may come in for a small share of
notice.

The Dragon-fly family have been divided into
two divisions, Libellulidce and Agrionidce, the title of
the first division being derived from the name of the

206

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

first, and best defined genera, Libellula. The term
Libellula , one of the fanciful denominations invented
by Linnaeus, is said to be derived from the name of a
kind of water engine, consisting of a long lever, work-
ing by means of a balanced weight at one end ; and
as a Dragon-fly sits at rest on some aquatic plant its
long slender tail extending over the water, it has
certainly some resemblance, in miniature, to such an
engine.

The detection of the facts which have allied the
existence of the graceful and glittering Dragon-fly
with that of a creeping aquatic creature of sombre
hue and generally repulsive appearance, is of com-
paratively recent occurrence. The impulse to observe
the transformations of insects having been once
given, the changes of the ugly aquatic larva referred
to, first into pupa stage, and then to the development
of the perfect insect, were no doubt watched and dis-
covered independently by several naturalists of the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, each fancying
himself the first discoverer. Goedart was, no doubt,
among1 the first of these, and the detailed account
which he published of the extraordinary metamor-
phoses he detected, as he witnessed them for the
first time, are very striking, though detailed with
the utmost simplicity of style. He called his work

DRAGON-FLIES, ETC.

207

“Metamorphoses et Ilistoria Naturalis Insect or um,”
and the account of the preparations pursued for
watching the progress of each expected metamor-
phosis he termed “ experiments,” and so indeed they
were to him, as he had no previous grounds for
knowing the results which might he disclosed to
his persevering observations. His preparations for
watching the progress of the larva of the Dragon-
fly rank as his “ Eocperimentum decimum-septimum ”
(his seventeenth experiment), and it was doubtless
one of those which proved to him the most interest-
ing and astonishing. We may imagine the en-
thusiastic naturalist, on the day when he first
captured the Dragon-fly larva, as he went forth into
the fields, seeking the borders of clear brooks and
ponds, and admiring with curious and eager eye the
singular forms which he saw dimly flitting beneath
the veil of water ; and his triumph at successfully
dredging up some of the curious creatures so eagerly
sought, such as Nos. 1 and 3 in Plate VI., just
in the way that a modern student, wishing to till
his modern Vivarium, must go about collecting a
similar harvest. We may imagine the new trea-
sures of old Goedart carried home in triumph
and placed carefully in some glass vessel, the better
to observe the habits and expected changes of

208

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

Iris freshly-captured pets, for doubtless bis sixteen

previous experiments bad taugbt bim to look for

0

something most highly curious and wonderful in
their eventual transformations.

The reader may imagine the old naturalist in
daily and almost hourly watch upon one or more
such creatures as that represented at ]Nros. 1 and 3,
Plate VI. ; at first much smaller, but, even in their
minutest stage, exhibiting extraordinary voracity,
and devouring all insects of smaller dimensions than
themselves as fast as they could be furnished to the
crystal reservoir, until they attained their full size,
which is represented in the illustration. To ob-
serve minutely their progress during that period re-
quired several months of careful watching ; at the
end of which time the naturalist, noticing that they
began to feed less voraciously, and then ceased to
take food altogether, no doubt came to the conclu-
sion, from previous “ experiments,” that a change
was about to take place. How curiously and
anxiously he would watch them climb, by any sup-
port within reach, clean out of the water, and cling
to the twig or other substance bv means of which
they had quitted their native element, becoming
gradually motionless, and eventually hard and stiff,
appearing perfectly dead ! Indeed, had not the

DRAGON-FLIES, ETC.

209

sixteen other experiments preceded the experiment um
decimum-sep timum, one can imagine the disappointed
naturalist throwing away the bodies of his prisoners,
under the supposition that loss of liberty had im-
pelled them to a determined suicide, by quitting the
legitimate region of their existence, and thus eluding
his intention of detecting the nature of their
eventual destiny.

Forewarned, however, by experience, he no doubt
patiently watched the dry remains of the aquatic
creatures, until, after many days of unwearied at-
tention, he perceived at last that the black horny
skin of one of them began to split along the hack,
and that this split widened, and at last two shining
emeralds seemed to emerge from the opening, which
were soon perceived to he the eyes of a living creature,
rapidly followed by the body, as shown in the en-
graving, No. 5, Plate VI. As the short semi-trans-
parent blades of dusky brown at the shoulders of the
insect (at first no longer than those represented)
began rapidly to expand, and actually grew visibly
under his observation, he soon saw them develop
themselves into exquisitely neurated wings of a rich
semi-transparent brown, destined to assume even-
tually the richest purple, and found that he had
traced for the first time the history of the singular

210

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

metamorphoses of tlie purple-winged Dragon-fly,
Calojpteryx Virgo , the elegant and richly-tinted crea-
ture which is represented with tolerable accuracy
in Plate YI. No. 4.

We have not the chance of experiencing the enthu-
siasm of the old Dutch naturalist, as the interest of
the metamorphosis is no longer new; and yet a series
of similar observations, in which many discoveries
are yet to he made, would teach so much more, even
to a modern student, than hooks can teach, that we
cannot help recommending such of our readers as
determine to set up an Insect Vivarium to make a
series of such “experiments” for themselves, care-
fully and minutely noting down in detail the result
of all their observations. It was thus that the first
studies of the young Cuvier were made; and the
manuscript memoranda thus prepared merely for his
own use, were, greatly to their author’s surprise,
pronounced by Geoffroy St. Hilaire the foundation
of a new code of Natural Science.

After the fresh-horn Dragon-fly has succeeded in
extracting his body, especially the long and slender
tail or abdomen, from the prison in which it has
been so closely packed, the wings, as described, attain
their full size with amazing rapidity ; hut the pre-
sence of these new appendages does not appear to

DRAGON-FLIES, ETC.

211

astonish the insect in the least, and we may see them
gently lifted, spread, lifted again, and then partially
closed, with all the dexterity which nothing hut either
long practice or an intuitive instinct could accom-
plish. When, by exposure to the air, and this gentle
and skilful exercise combined, they have become
sufficiently hardened, for they are at first quite soft,
the beautiful insect hesitates no longer, but at once
rises into a new element — his powers of moving and
sustaining himself in which form a singular con-
trast to those by means of which his dwelling at the
bottom of muddy ponds was made easy and delight-
ful to him. We are led to a curious train of re-
flections when we ask ourselves by what means
the so-lately creeping creature, newly and suddenly
gifted with the power of flight, knows at once the
purpose of the beautifully-tinted fans which have
issued from his shoulders, and hesitates not to use
them with the boldness of a creature already
practised in all the technicalities of the art of flying.
We see a young bird, even when fully fledged,
spread its feathered pinions in a vague, helpless
kind of way, till the parent bird, flitting from
branch to branch, tempts the pupil to follow, each
time selecting a rather more distant point, till the
use of the wing is gradually learnt, as it were, from

212

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

a professor. But tlie daring insect requires no
teaching; he rises at once boldly into the new
element, never doubting his powers, and sails off
far over the bosom of the lake perfectly unconscious
of any danger, as he takes what one might literally
call “ one of the boldest flights of intuitive genius.”

In his fully expanded and mature state he may
he seen in the same Plate VI., No. 4. His scientific
name is Calopieryx Virgo , as I have stated, and
he belongs to the class termed Agrionidce. The
name of the genus Calopteryx is evidently derived
from the Greek words /caXos (beautiful), and m-epov
(a wing) ; all the three species which belong to it
having their wings more or less enriched with
striking colours, while those of the rest of the
family are perfectly transparent, or only slightly
tinted with colour. The term Agrionidce is pro-
bably from the Greek aypevs (a hunter), from the
determination with which the living prey is pursued
by these creatures. The term would, however, be
equally applicable to the whole family.

I recollect last summer seeing certain parts of the
Thames, a mile or two above Maidenhead Bridge,
covered with vast swarms of the beautiful Calop-
teryx Virgo, which, being in many instances settled
on the great sedges and rushes that fill the shallows

DRAGON-FLIES, ETC.

213

of that part of the river, made them appear as
though covered with rich purple blossoms, which
produced a most enchanting effect.

The individual represented in Plate VI. is a male,
in its most mature state, after the wings have
assumed their richest purple, the other sex being
much more sober in its style of dress. The female
of Calopteryx has indeed the body as brightly
tinted as that of the male, with the difference that
it is green instead of blue ; but the wings are nearly
transparent, being only just tinted with a suffusion
of soft silky brown ; and another distinction is that
the neuration or net-work of the wings is decidedly
more open in its character. The sexual differences
of aspect of the graceful Calopteryx Virgo , as also
analogous differences in many other insects, often
led our early classifiers to make separate species of
the two sexes; and in this way uselessly mul-
tiplying names and lists, and making endless con-
fusion, which had to be set to rights by the* slow
means of gradual discoveries, of a kind which, as
offering small reward, are only worked out by the
labours of a few devoted enthusiasts.

There are also other circumstances connected
with the beautiful Calopteryx Virgo which have led
to the erroneous multiplication of species ; first, the

214

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

changes in colour which it undergoes after its issue
from the pupa; and, secondly, the curious modifica-
tions which it exhibits under the influence of climate.

.As regards the changes of colour, they are the
following, as first noticed and described by M. de
Selys, of Liege, in a very recent work. It appears,
from these accurate and curious observations, that
when the insect first comes from the pupa case, the
wings are almost colourless ; that soon after they
attain their full dimensions, they assume a ferru-
ginous brown, not opaque, and somewhat resembling
the brown wings of the mature female. In this
stage Charpentier made it a distinct species, as
C. Vesta. In the next change the brown becomes
nearly opaque, and exhibits a fine flush of purple in
some lights. In the last and mature stage the
wings are opaque, except at the base and tip, and
of the rich purple shown in Plate YI. No. 4.

Males of this species, in either of the younger
stages, have had distinct names conferred upon them
by our earlier entomologists, the different stages of
the female leading to similar misapprehensions. The
male, in its youngest state was made a distinct va-
riety, as Var. a, and in its second stage, when the
nervures begin to darken, it was made Var. 7.

The following: variations from the effect of cli-

DRAGON-FLIES, ETC.

215

mate are mentioned by De Selys. Tliat called
JETcemorrhoides is found along the shores of the Medi-
terranean, and as far north as Lyons, which appears
to he its extreme limit; and there are varieties in
Spain, Italy, Algeria, and Asia Minor, all of which
have received names as distinct species, though
proved by connecting links to be merely varieties.
The green variety named Ludovicianum by Leach,
and described by De Eambur as of the “richest
metallic green,” is perhaps the same as the one I
have placed in Plate VI. No. 6, which was, how-
ever, taken in England, where the species is, I con-
ceive, also subject to vary in different localities, as
I have found the males occasionally with green
bodies like the females, instead of being of the ordi-
nary blue. Some of the southern varieties have the
opaque blue extending entirely to the tip of the
wing, instead of leaving the small open space as in
the English species.

The larva of Calopteryx Virgo * as represented
in Plate VI. No. 3, is much more slender in form
than that of IAbellula Depressa * belonging to one of
the first divisions of this beautiful family of insects,
which in its broader and flatter and shorter body ex-

* For some account of the structure of these larva see
Chapter V. page 71.

216

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

Mbits exactly tlie analogy of proportion we should
expect with the perfect insect, which is shown imme-
diately above (No. 2). This insect — the Great Tlat-
hodied Dragon-fly — is among the most common,
though one of the handsomest of the family. On
fine summer days he may he seen in the evening in
our gardens in pursuit of his insect prey. The
graceful quivering of his silvery wings, as he hovers
over some devoted victim, exhibits to perfection his
skill in the art of flying, and the manner in which
he sweeps off when disturbed or disappointed is
really magnificent.

Though not so richly coloured as the kind last
described, he is yet far from deficient in that re-
spect, the soft lilac bloom of the body of the male
forming a very pleasing contrast with the rich solid
brown patches at the base of his exquisitely trans-
parent wings. His eyes, of the kind termed com-
pound, from being composed of an infinite number
of brilliant facets, are very beautiful, even to the
naked eye ; hut with the aid of a powerful glass
they form very splendid objects, and the owner
of a Vivarium should not fail to examine them
before he gives the creature his liberty, or consigns
him to the honour of a place in his cabinet, as
the case may be. The female of this species is dis-

DRAGON-FLIES, ETC.

217

tinguished by a yellow body ; in other respects she
closely resembles tlie male.

In order to encourage those who have set np an
Insect Vivarium to pay especial attention to this
tribe, and especially to watch their transformations,
those of many of the family being as yet very imper-
fectly known, I will briefly describe a few of the
most striking of the British genera and species.

The species standing first in the division is Libel-
lula Metadata , a kind which has received its specific
name from the brown maculations at the base of the
wings, which are much larger and better defined
than in the species just described ; but the body is
not so conspicuous, being much more slender,
though scarcely longer. It is, however, of the same
soft lilac hue as that of L. Depressa. The female is
distinguished by a yellow or rather lemon- coloured
body, and by having the blotches at the base of the
wings still larger than those of the male, while the
transparent part is beautifully suffused with orange.

The three next species of this genus are all
somewhat similar to those described, but having
still narrower though not longer bodies, the last
species being a considerably smaller insect.

Then follows a very elegant species, bearing the
specific name of “ Flaveolci ,” from the beautiful pale

218

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

yellow tone which, suffuses the basal portion of the
anterior wings, and extends over nearly half the
surface of the hinder pair.

The next genus is Cordulia , which is still of
the short-bodied section. C. Artisict is a very
pretty species, having its exquisitely clear wings
finely suffused with brown, and yet remaining as
clear as glass. The wings of the female are of a
slightly richer tone than those of the male, but in
other respects their general aspect is very similar,
both having their bodies beautifully maculated
with black and green, in the manner which is so
conspicuous in the great long-tailed species which
come next in the arrangement.

The first of this kind form the genus Cor-
dulegaster, C. Annulatus having the long slender
body very beautifully annulated or ringed with
dark markings.

The genus Aeshna contains Aeshna Cyanea ,
the great long-tailed species, so commonly seen
in our gardens, and known as the “ Dragon-
fly” par excellence. The females of A. Cyanea
have the wings suffused with brown, like
so many other species ; hut as the males have
sometimes the same peculiarity, it is not, in this
instance, a very characteristic distinction. The

DRAGON-FLIES, ETC.

219

form of the wings in this species have, however, a
very marked difference in the two sexes, those of
the male forming at the base a sharp angle towards
the body, while those of the female are rounded off
in the same part, and therefore quite free from the
angle in question.

This, the most common of the Dragon-fly family,
has been made the subject of many curious experi-
ments : his wondrous eyes, with their endless num-
ber of convex facets, have been submitted to the
microscope of every curious naturalist, and his vo-
racity both in the larva and perfect state has been
tested by experiments which might seem very
cruel, but from our knowing that the sense of pain,
as we conceive it, is, from their peculiar structure,
almost absent in insects. Colonel Pringle decapi-
tated several Dragon-flies, among other experi-
ments, and a rather curious result followed, which
was that several of them lived for four months

i

without their heads, and one of the number for six
months, though with their heads on he could never
keep them alive beyond a few days. Mr. Haworth,
a well-known writer on British entomology, made
this Dragon-fly the means of proving to a
friend the fact, that insects have not a nervous
system, calculated for the transmission of a sense of

220

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

pain to a perceptive point corresponding with the
human brain. Striking down one of these creatures
with a stick, its long abdomen was severed from the
trunk ; but on being furnished with hies, it greedily
devoured several. On attempting to hv, however,
thus deprived of its balance-pole, it could not rise
properly or guide itself ; but on Mr. Haworth
forming for it a false abdomen by means of a light
piece of a geranium- stalk, the greedy Aeslma , after
taking another couple of hies, hew off with great
glee, evidently not aware of the injury it had sus-
tained, and certainly not of the nature of the con-
trivance by which the present inconvenience, caused
by the injury, was entirely obviated.

Aeslma Granclis has beautiful transparent brown
wings in both sexes, but the same differences of
form distinguish them as in the last species. While
speaking of this genus, I may mention the hne
continental species A. Azurea , a magnificent insect
common in Hungary, which might easily be reared
from the larva in a Vivarium, in which it would
form a striking novelty.

We now come to the beautiful kinds contained in
the Acgrionidce , of which we have already described
one species, that with the entirely purple wings,
Calopteryx Virgo . The next species, Calopteryx

DRAGON-FLIES, ETC.

221

S plendens, is, however, still more remarkable ; the
purple in the wings of the male being confined to a
large oval blotch in the centre of each wing, the
point and base remaining perfectly hyaline or trans-
lucent. In this species the neurations of the wings
of the male, unlike those of C. Virgo , are much
more open than in the wings of the female. In the
last-named sex they are in this kind remarkably fine;
in other respects the wings are like those of the
female - of the former species, being of a soft, silky
brown tone, and semi-transparent, while the body
also is green. This species, like C. Virgo , varies in
colour at different ages, the blotches being pale
blue while it is young.

Some of the exotic species of this division of the
Dragon-fly family are very splendid, especially the
Chinese kinds, which present some very curious
anomalies, the anterior and posterior wings being
of different colours, as among Moths and Butter-
flies. It would be expected that the front -wing in
such cases would be the most brilliantly distin-
guished by colour, but instead of that the opposite
is the case, the front-wings being perfectly trans-
parent and colourless, while the hinder pair are of the
same kind of solid metallic green or purple as that
which distinguishes our own C. Virgo. To mention

222

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

a particular instance, the pretty species Neurobasis
Chinensis may be cited, the anterior wings of
which are of a pale transparent brown, while the
posterior ones are of the richest metallic purple, with
the exception of a large blotch of rich solid brown
at the tip. In some cases, whether from difference
of sex, difference of species, or mere accidental va-
riety in the males, the purple portion of the wing
is green, of the same dark, rich kind as that of my
specimen of C. Virgo previously mentioned. *

To return to our native Dragon-flies. I must re-
mark, though I have not space to enumerate eachspe-
cies,that after the genus Calopteryx come the small
slender-bodied, and delicately-winged kinds, many
of which are as beautiful as those already described,
and well worthy of study. The most beautiful
exotic example of this section of the family I have
ever seen is a solitary specimen in the British
Museum, from the Diver Amazon. It is of the
very smallest kind, not above an inch across the
wings from tip to tip, but its gorgeous colouring
makes ample amends for its diminutive size. It has the
anterior wings transparent, like the Chinese species
mentioned, but the hind-wings are a perfect blaze
of brilliant hues, varying with every new play of the
light. The generally prevailing effect, however, is,

DRAGON-FLIES, ETC.

223

that these hind-wings are of a shining metallic
purple at the base, with a foil-like kind of gleam,
which shades through imperceptible gradations of the
richest olive into a brilliant orange, which towards
the middle of the wing reaches the intensity of a
refulgent scarlet, the whole surface having the tex-
ture and kind of radiation that is seen in leaf-gold.

As regards the Chinese species, I think the larva
might be brought to England in well-contrived
Vivaria, and that we might naturalize those mag-
nificent insects in our brooks and rivers, as I shall
explain more fully when treating of the culture of
exotic insects in general, if space should permit. And
before quitting the subject of Dragon-flies, I may
suggest to such as wish to know more about them
that they will find abundance of information in
the works of Vanderlinden, Clmrpentier, Selys, and
Pictet, accompanied by a very beautiful series of
plates of all the species ; and for a recent list of all
the English species I may refer them to that by
Dr. Haagen in “ Stainton’s Entomologist” for 1857.

The Caddis Worm tribe will form interesting
subjects in the water of the Vivarium, and if the
larvse are secured at a period when they are
near their change, the appearance of the motli-like
ephemera would form an interesting event in the

224

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

Vivarium. There are several very distinct kinds,
but I have not space to enumerate them here.

I must, indeed, only refer to one more family of
Insects in the order Neuroptera — that of the pretty
green insects with transparent wings seen fluttering
about the shady parts of our gardens in the warm
summer twilight. The most common species is
C hr y sop a JCerlci, both the generic and specific names
of which convey the idea of its transparent wings
with their opalline tinges of milky softness, flushed
in different lights with prismatic hues, which have
sometimes the effect of the nacreous colours of some
of the most beautiful of the pearl-lined sea shells.
The female Chrysopct should be placed in the Insect
Vivarium, in order to secure an opportunity of see-
ing the curious disposition of the eggs at the top of
slender filaments, as described in Chapter IV. The
larvae of this insect, when hatched, creep down the
liair-like stilts upon the eggs, which have been
placed as a security against predatory enemies, and
immediately commence their own depredations among
the Aphides , which are their natural prey. The larvae
of the genus Chrysopct resemble in general form, and
in the nature of their food, those of the Lady-bird, to
be described in another place, though the perfect insect
belongs to such an entirely different class of insects.

DRAGON-FLIES, ETC.

225

Some of the exotic species of Cl my sop a have larger
wings than onr native kinds, but are not more
richly coloured. A species from the Amazon River,
remarkable for the size of its beautiful wings, has
been named by the eminent Continental entomo-
logist, M. Guerin, Chrysopa Marionellci , after the
daughter of my esteemed frie w1 Mr. Adam White,
of the entomological departm « the British Mu-
seum, to whose knowledge ann perience I have
been much indebted, not only during the prepara-
tion of this unpretending volume, but on many
other occasions.

*

Q

Plate YII

1. Phyllium Scythe— The Leaf-insect (female). 6. The Chrysalis of Chrysomda Trcmuhc.

2. Ntlolontha Fullo — The Variegated May-bug. 7. Acanthocinus JEdilis.

3. The Larva of Ntlolontha Vulgaris— The Common May hug. 8. The Larva of Acanthocinut JEdilis.

4. Chnjsomcla Tremulrc (strongly magnified). 9. Callidium Vinlaceum,

0. The Larva of Chrynomala. * The Larva No. 8 feeds in wood.

4

COLEOFTERA — BEETLES.

227

is still one of the most extensive, containing nearly
40,000 distinct species.

There are some discrepancies in the charac-
ter of a few of the insects still necessarily included
in this order, even in its eliminated state. Tor
instance, some few species are apterous, or without
wings, in one sex, as the Glow-worm and Dribus ;
and some few of the genera of Car abides, and Cur-
calionidce have elytra, or wing-cases, hut no wings ;
and in some the elytra are joined, and cannot be
lifted or opened. Still one grand feature, that of a
nearly complete metamorphosis, exists in all the in-
sects at present retained in the order ; that is to say,
the larva state is entirely distinct in form from that
of the perfect insect ; while in the genera that have
been separated from it the larvae present nearly all
the features that appear in the perfected form,
except the wings, which are gradually developed
without any striking metamorphosis, like that which
takes place in true Coleoptera.

Several modern naturalists have sought to alter
the venerable term of Aristotle, and introduce one
more suitable, perhaps, in some respects, but by
which we should lose that fine aroma of antiquity
that clings about the well-worn term of the learned
Stagvrite. Tabricius, for instance, adopted the term

228

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

ffleutherata , and Clairville that of JElytroptera ,
either of which might serve their intended purpose
with great propriety; hut the good old name, Coleo-
ptera , still stands good, and is now too well esta-
blished to fear erasure from a modern pen, however
daring or innovative.

Speaking of Aristotle reminds me of an amusing
and somewhat ridiculous misprint in the cc Revue
Zoologique,” in which the credit intended to he
given to the great Macedonian naturalist is rather
curiously transferred to a celebrated Italian poet.
It is in the preface to the “ first part ” of this work
that M. Guerin de Manneville has allowed the error
in question to escape his correction. It occurs when
speaking of the vast range of the works of Cuvier,
he calls him “ cet Arioste des temps moderne,”
meaning, of course, “ cet Aristote.” Certainly
Cuvier never expected, even accidentally, to he com-
pared to the author of the “ Orlando Eurioso.”

Among the Cole opt era, of which I was just now
speaking, the Water Beetles, though not quite the
first in the order of arrangement, perhaps deserve
the first notice in a work where fitness for a A iva-
rium is the principal object sought for. Most of
the Water Beetles will form interesting objects in
a Vivarium in which a small tank forms a leading

COLEOPTERA BEETLES.

229

feature ; but among the Dytiscicla ?, the typical genus
Dytiscus must be avoided, or kept apart, on ac-
count of their voracious habits, as they will not only
destroy other aquatic insects, but even small fish,
where any are kept. The late Curator of the old
“ Physic Garden ” at Chelsea is known to have com-
plained that these predatory Water Beetles greatly
annoyed him in the ponds of the garden by eating
off the fins of gold and silver fish, even of large size.
But notwithstanding these objections, Dytiscus
Marginalis is worthy of a place in the Vivarium if
he can be kept separate, for his activity in swim-
ming is very attractive, and he is in some cases
very long-lived. Esper cites a case in which a
specimen was kept for three years and a half, being
occasionally fed upon small pieces of meat. But
Kirby and Spence attribute this degree of longevity
to his having been kept solitary, and so not
allowed to pair. Some of this tribe, Acilius Sulcatus
and others, have the power of making a humming
noise, which is not produced, as formerly supposed,
by rubbing the elytra, or hard wing-cases, against
the abdomen, but rather, as Mr. Westwood supposes,
hy the action of the air upon the cilulets.

Water Beetles maybe observed to remain deeper
in the water as the weather becomes colder, and to

230

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

rise towards the surface in proportion to the in-
creasing warmth, so that they may he made, by a
course of accurate observations, a kind of living* ther-
mometer. On warm summer evenings they creep to
the edge of the water, and emerging from what
seems (judging by the nature of their tin-like
and ciliated swimming-legs) their native element,
they spread their wings and ascend almost perpen-
dicularly into the air to such a height as to lie no
longer distinguishable. After a time they descend
as vertically, dropping with considerable force into
the water, towards which it would seem that they
are guided by the light reflected from its surface ;
for it not unfrequently happens that they drop in a
similar manner upon cucumber or melon frames,
the light reflected from the bright surface of which
they have evidently mistaken for that of water.
Some of them are known to be attracted by the
light of a candle at night ; and when an intruder
of this kind appears he may be easily captured
and consigned to the tank of the Vivarium.

xlmong the prettiest of the Water Beetles may
rank the Gyrmida , popularly called Whirligigs,
and in French Tourniquets, from their curious
spinning motion, in which action their bright wing-
cases glitter like burnished metal. When they dive

COLEOPTERA — BEETLES.

231

tliey carry with them a small globule of air, some-
thing like that of the Water Spider, which, as they
descend, glitters like a granule of quicksilver.
Bosel succeeded in rearing a brood of larvae of the
Whirligigs, from eggs found upon the leaves of
aquatic plants ; an experiment that might he tried,
with still better chance of success, in our Insect
Home; and much information upon the subject
might be gathered by such as wish to try the ex-
periment, from the minutely detailed account given
by Modeer of all their successive transformations.

The Hydrophilidce have been separated from the
Dytiscidcc on account of certain characteristics which
I have not space to describe here. I can only
call to the collector’s recollection that Hydro -
philus JPioeus is the largest and handsomest of the
Water Beetles, and, as he is comparatively harmless,
he may he kept in a tank without fear of his
injuring the other inmates. The eggs of Hydro -
philus Ficeus are gummed together by a substance
spun by the female, by which means fifty or sixty
are attached together, forming a mass something
like a small turnip, which is always secured to
some aquatic plant. When the eggs are hatched
the shells still remain gummed together, and the
mass having become detached from its anchorage,

232

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

and of course rendered nmoli lighter, may often
he seen floating on the surface of brooks and
streams, puzzling the curious who have not made
themselves acquainted with this part of the do-
mestic economy of the female Hydrophilus. The
larva of Hydrophilus JPiceus feeds upon small
molluscs, and manages to break their shells by a
very singular contrivance. He, in fact, makes a
table of his back, towards which he is able to bend
over his head, in which position it is very interest-
ing to watch him make the necessary preparations
for his meal.

But I must leave my readers to learn more
about Water Beetles from their own experience, or
from works specially devoted to the subject, for I
have not yet attended to the very first genus of
Cole opt era, that of the pretty green and red spot-
ted Cicindela , commonly called the Tiger Beetle,
from the ferocity with which, both in the larva and
perfect state, it pursues its miniature prey. The
names of this pretty Beetle and of the Glow-worm
were confounded by the naturalists of the last
century, which led to many misconceptions, some-
what similar to those caused by the numerous Homo-
phones which are now puzzling the decipherers of the
cuneatic inscriptions of the Assyrians. It is curious

COLEOPTERA BEETLES.

233

also, tliat in consequence of a knowledge of natural
science not having been very generally diffused, the
names of the Eire-fly and Glow-worm have, in
translations from the classics, been confused in a
somewhat similar manner.

M. Desmarest was the first to observe the
method pursued by the larvae of our pretty Tiger
Beetles for capturing their prey. The larva, as
described by that expert entomologist, makes a
deep hole in the sandy soil, and by means of certain
liook-like appendages with which it is furnished, is
enabled to hold itself at the top of the hole, making
its own broad flat head form a kind of trap-door to
the treacherous oubliette. No sooner does some
unwary insect attempt to pass over this seeming
level surface, than it sinks beneath him, and he
falls with his captor to the bottom of the horrible
pit, where he is remorselessly devoured.

If any very sensitive young lady should establish
an Insect Home, she will perhaps do well not to
attempt to rear a brood of larvae of Cicindelidce , as
she might be shocked at this treacherous and some-
what savage proceeding. But, for the comfort of
those who would, but for a painful sympathy in the
fate of the unwary traveller thus entrapped on his
way, wish to keep the pretty Cicindelidce , I may

234

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

liere recall Livingstone’s account of his being seized
and torn by a lion, from the attack of which he had
a miraculous escape. In describing this affair, he
tells us that either the roar of the lion, or some pe-
culiar shock communicated by the claws, produced
an effect which appeared to prevent his feeling any
pain, or even any sense of dread; and we may
thence infer that the ordinary prey of the lion is
paralysed by the attack in a similar manner, and
that the fascinating glare of the bird-snake equally
destroys all sense of pain or terror in the victim ;
and also that the larva of the Tiger Beetle is
enabled to enjoy his legitimate meal without causing
pain to the paralysed victim of his ingenious con-
trivance for replenishing his larder.

The larvae of another Beetle, Staphylinus Oleus ,
provides himself with his necessary food in a some-
what similar, though more bold and less ingenious
manner. He makes a hole some six or eight inches
deep, at the entrance of which he takes his post,
watching for the approach of his destined dinner.
When the, perhaps long expected, traveller arrives,
he darts boldly out, seizes his prey, and drags it to
the bottom of the pit, from which there is no
escape, even large snails becoming not unfrequcntly
his victims.

COLEOPTERA — BEETLES.

235

The Burying Beetles, sometimes called the
“ Sextons,” exhibit a very interesting kind of in-
stinct in providing for their larvae. These Necro-
phori, as they are sometimes called, are some of
them very handsome, being most frequently red or
orange-coloured, and finely spotted or barred with
black. Gledetscli, in his “ Recreations of Natural
History,” published in 1765, has given a very in-
teresting account of their habits. He tells us that
if a dead reptile or piece of flesh is placed as a bait
for them at the proper season, they appear in an
incredibly short time, guided no doubt by an ex-
tremely keen sense of smell, which enables them to
scent it from a considerable distance. When they
arrive, they appear to survey the object with a certain
kind of deliberation, as though taking the measure
of its dimensions ; after which they at once com-
mence digging underneath, and sometimes bury it
above a foot deep, the whole operation occupying
but a few hours. When the work is complete, the
female deposits her eggs upon the object, and it is
then covered up so as to leave but little trace of
the performance.

An instance is recorded of the singular manner
in which their instinct enables them to overcome
unexpected difficulties when they occur. A Mole,

236

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

as it is said, was suspended to the upper end of a
stick fixed firmly in the ground, and the scent of
the carcase soon attracted the “ Sextons,” who ap-
peared at first much disconcerted hy the situation
of the coveted supply of provender for their future
progeny. After a kind of consultation, however,
which appears to have heen very much to the
point, they proceeded to undermine the stick,
which, yielding to a few hours’ unceasing labour,
at last fell, and the prize was secured and duly in-
terred after the usual fashion.

But I believe I must now confine myself, or pretty
nearly so, to a brief description of the Coleopterous
insects represented in Plate VII., and the Lady-
birds, and Glow-worm in Plates V. and VI., the last
two being among the most attractive of the whole
Beetle tribe, and well suited to a Vivarium. ]STo. 2
in Plate VII. is a handsome species of the May-hug
tribe, Melolontlia Fullo , which, though rarely found
in England, is common on the Erench coast,
whence it might he procured and placed as a prin-
cipal ornament in the Vivarium, where it might
easily he kept in health, as it is in. its perfect state
a leaf-feeder. The larva of this handsome insect is
very similar to that of the common May-hug,
Melolontlia Vulgaris , which is represented at iS o. 3

COLEOPTERA BEETLES.

237

as burrowing under tlie turf. No. 4 is a highly
magnified specimen of Chrysomela Tremulcc, nearly
allied to the Lady -bird family, and No. 6 is an
equally magnified representation of its Chrysalis.
The larvae are not, like those of many other fami-
lies of Beetles, a kind of grub feeding under ground
or in the trunks of trees, but are leaf-feeders, and
very closely resemble the larvae of Lady- birds . They
are represented of the natural size on e leaf from
which the pupa is suspended. This cl * of Beetles,
in their larva and pupa stages, form a kind of link
between the ordinary larvae of Beetles and those of
Lepidoptera , the pupa being a very near approach
to the chrysalides of several kinds of Moths and
Butterflies.

No. 7 is Acanthocinus AE dills, the variegated
pinkish-brown wing-cases of which, with the sin-
gularly graceful antennae, form a very pleasing
object. No. 8 is the larva of this pretty Beetle,
which feeds on the wood of young trees, and is very
destructive, being only placed, as shown in the Plate,
for convenience. Batzeburgli, in his “ History of
Porest Insects,” especially all such as are injurious
to timber, particularly mentions the ravages com-
mitted hy the larva of Acanthocinus AEdilis.

No. 9 is Callidium Violaceum , a pretty insect,

238

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

whose wing-cases are of a bright shining violet-
purple, which would create a very pleasing variety
of colour in our little colony, especially when run-
ning over the plants of the Vivarium in the sun-
light.

Then there is the brilliant Cantharis Vesica-
toria , the “ Blister Beetle” of our Materia Medica,
which, with its rich green and golden metallic gloss,
could not fail to he attractive. Tew are aware that
the Cantharis is a native, as the numbers imported
by druggists are commonly called “ Spanish-flies.”
These beautiful hut destructive insects, however,
appear occasionally in England in great numbers ;
and at Southend, a few seasons ago, so completely
cleared the Lime-trees of their foliage that many of
them did not recover their devastions.

No. 5 in Plate V. is the wingless female of the
Glow-worm, Lampyris Noctiluca ; and No. 6 the
winged male, hying towards its mate. The common
and generally received fable, which describes the
wingless female of L. Noctiluca as being furnished
with a light, for the purpose of attracting her
mate, regarding the male as being entirely without
this singular light, has been long ago disproved
by naturalists, though still clung to by poets as
an elegant fancy, and far too valuable in poetic

COLEOPTERA BEETLES.

239

machinery to he allowed to fall into disuse. The
fact is, that the light emitted by the male is at a
certain period nearly as bright as that of the female,
hut is only visible when the wings and wing-cases
are expanded in flight ; and the light is also present
when the insect is in the larva state, in which stage
of its existence it is of no sex.

It is, however, pretty certain that the light is
most brightly shown at the pairing time, when both
sexes have arrived at maturity, and thus the old
fable, after all, is partly true ; which is further proved
by the singular formation of the head of the male,
which is margined with a horny band, that prevents
either upward or lateral vision, confining his sight
entirely to objects below him in his flight, such, for
instance, as the wingless female with her “ lover’s
lamp,” who, deprived of the means of flight, is never
able to rise from the bank which has been her abode
ever since she escaped from the shell of the minute
egg deposited there by the parent.

Glow-worms are about twenty-one months in
their progressive larva stages; that is to say, the
larvae hatched about August or September have not
attained their full growth till the end of the follow-
ing season, when they pass into the pupa state ; and
the second year, early in June, the perfect insects,

240

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

having completed their development, emerge from
the pupa or nymphine state. At that season the
females may he seen displaying their glowing spark
of seeming tire in the mossy hanks, while the males,
in dim twilight, carry their little lanterns of paler
light through the warm evening air, often flying
together in considerable numbers.

At Eastcote, in the summer of 1856, while
sitting in the drawing-room of a friend’s house,
about ten o’clock in the evening, we observed a
great number of seeming sparks, of a pale bluish
colour, that seemed to he driven towards the open
window by the warm night wind. They came posi-
tively into the room, and appeared for a moment to
fill the whole space, and were then suddenly extin-
guished ; and the next instant the white table-cloth
of the supper-table, my friend’s shirt-front and my
own, and every other light object were covered with
swarms of a small narrow Beetle, which I at once
recognized as the male Glow-worm.

During our walks that season, the female Glow-
worms were very plentiful along the banks, espe-
cially in a lane leading from Eastbury to Watford,
and we collected a great number, which were placed
upon a range of artificial rock in my garden, when

COLEOPTERA — BEETLES.

241

we were gratified by tlieir miniature illumination
every fine evening for several weeks. I am inclined
to think that this pretty and curious insect might
he naturalized in a Vivarium, to which it would
impart a great additional interest. With this in-
tention, several females abont to deposit their eggs
should be placed in the case ; and if any were
hatched, it is most prohahle that they would he
reared successfully, affording a convenient oppor-
tunity of observing at what period of their develop-
ment the light was most brilliantly exhibited. Even
in the egg state, however, it is known that the
Glow-worm is already luminous, each egg appearing
like a little hall of phosphorus. The larvae even in
the young stages are also luminous, as I have stated
before; hut He Geer asserts that the light of the
larvae is much paler. Even in the dormant epoch of
the pupa stage the phosphorescent effect is visible
at night; and thus the fable, which would have
elevated our little Glow-worm into an insect Hero
expecting her Leander, guided safely to her tower by
her never-failing beacon, entirely falls to the ground.
Her light, at all events, during her long, deep
nymphind4 sleep, can only he considered as a kind
of “ night-light,” while that of the equally drowsy

n

242

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

bachelor must sink into the mere rushlight of the
invalid;* and thus, with the advance of science,
many a pretty fable loses both its poetry and point,
and becomes neglected and forgotten.

In the time of Gilbert White, however, entomo-
logical science had not yet stripped the Glow-worm
of her raiment of poetry, and the concluding lines
of a little poem that he addressed to a brother
naturalist — the celebrated Pennant — are so neatly
turned that I cannot resist the temptation of quot-
ing them here : —

“The chilling night- dews fall: away, retire,

For see, the Glow-worm lights her amorous fire !

Thus, ere night’s veil had half obscured the sky,

Th’ impatient damsel hung her lamp on high ;

True to the signal, by love’s meteor led,

Leander hasten’d to his Hero’s bed.”

It will not be uninteresting to follow the sug-
gestion thus accidentally struck out by the poet of
Selborne, which infers, though vaguely, the ex-
istence of some analogy between the Greek story of
Hero and Leander, and the fable of the Glow-worm.

I believe that we have actually, in the story
of the lovers of Sestos and Abydos, a ^somewhat

* It has been observed that the female Glow-worm in the
height of the summer season extinguishes her light at about
half-past eleven o’clock.

COLEOPTERA — BEETLES.

243

late version of a national myth as old as that of
Cupid and Psyche, which, as I have stated in
another place, was founded upon the transformations
of the Butterfly ;* while that of Hero and Leander

t/ 7

in its original form, was very probably founded, in
a precisely similar manner, upon the peculiarities
exhibited by the singular organization of the Glow-
worm as viewed by the same imaginative Hellenic
race, who, no doubt, at a very early period became
acquainted with the unusual phenomena presented
by this curious insect.

The fable concerning the nocturnal light of the
female, as being a beacon intended to guide the
course of her mate in his aerial flight, might soon
arise among any rustic population, who are invariably
close observers of Nature, and who as invariably
transform the phenomena they thus become ac-
quainted with into signs and tokens which are
soon interwoven with national superstitions and
fables.

The next phase of all popular fables is their
embellishment, by the language and fancies of the
poet, and in this form we shall find so striking an
analogy between the poem of Hero and Leander,
and the rustic fable of the Glow-worm’s light, that

* See page 13G.

244

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

one feels compelled to admit that they are simply
different versions of the same idea. In the first
place Hero is made a priestess of Aphrodite — that
is, of Love — and it is therefore as an emblem of that
passion that she is represented as awaiting Leander,
and guiding his course by her nocturnal beacon.
Musseus, in his comparatively recent work, in order
to suit the greater amount of realistic taste that
always develops itself in the maturer stages of
civilization, loses sight of the origin of the story,
and the lamp is introduced in the trite form of that
of the Light-house of Sestos ; hut in the original it
was doubtless a light that gleamed from the temple
of Aphrodite, that is to say, the altar of Love.
Then, the lover does not approach the light in any
ordinary manner, neither on foot nor on the swifter-
footed steed, as in common romance ; but, in order
to preserve the analogy complete in all its bearings,
he is made to clear his way through the medium
of another element ; and as the insect approaches
its mate through the air, in which her more humble
nature denied her the power to soar, so Leander
reaches the lamp of Hero in a poetically analogous
manner, through the waters of the Hellespont.

To make a flying youth would have been incon-
sistent with the artistic principles of the Greeks, it

COLEOPTERA — BEETLES.

245

would have been too glaring a deviation from Nature
in a story, intended to enlist purely human sym-
pathies ; while the ingenious device of substituting
the act of swimming for that of flying, at once
preserves the analogy, and by its probability secures
the sympathies of the reader.

As the ground-work for the conclusion of the
story, we may conceive that on the approach of a
sudden storm, a female Glow-worm, as instinct
teaches her, withdraws her light ; and on the fol-
lowing morning it is easy to imagine that some
shepherd, leading bis flock back to their pastures
after the tempestuous night, and finding a male
Glow-worm lying with out-spread wings, drenched
and drowned by the way-side, would be led to con-
clude that the poor insect had fallen a victim to his
daring and his constancy, and while disregarding
the dangers of the tempest had fallen a victim to
his ill-timed devotion. Here we seem to have the
prototype of the catastrophe which occurred to
Leander ; the lamp trimmed by his love ex-
tinguished in the storm, and he, no longer guided by
the beacon-light, perishing miserably among the
breakers of the rugged shore of the Hellespont.

We have thus completed the companion picture
to that of the story of Psyche, though occupying a

246

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

secondary position ; but we may suppose that the
poetic romance of Musseus was taken from some
earlier work, containing much more of that true
mythic character, which would impart to it a
higher kind of interest.

Among our native Beetles, the Lady -bird has
been almost as great a popular favourite as the
Glow-worm ; and as it is a great benefactor to our
rose-trees, as well as being the means of ornament-
ing some of their leaves with its bright little masses
of scarlet, more brilliant than their own buds, I shall
devote my remaining space to some details connected
with its general history and associations, in pre-
ference to speaking of other members of the Beetle
tribe. Its generic name is Coccinellci, from the
Greek word, /co/aavos, scarlet, in allusion to the pre-
vailing colour of most of the family. The popular
English names are similar to those by which it is
known on the Continent, our “Lady-cow” and
“Lady-bird” being represented in Erench by
“ Vache-a-Lieu,” “Bete de la Vierge,” etc. ; our
term “ Lady ” clearly alluding to the Virgin Mary.
In Erance the Lady-bird is also termed “ Vole-midi,”
from its favourite time of flight being at mid-day ;
and sometimes as “Petite tortue,” in allusion
to its form, which might pass for a miniature

COLEOPTERA — BEETLES.

247

model of that of the small Land Tortoise. The terms
“ Lady-cow” and “ Vache-a-Dieu ” have arisen
from the curious faculty possessed by this little
insect of exuding a yellowish milky fluid, which was
once deemed an almost miraculous cure for tooth-
ache and cholic, for which purposes it formerly held
a place in the “ Materia Medica.” This fluid has a
rather disagreeable odour, and is doubtless a means
of defence, analogous to that possessed by many other
insects, and some of the higher animals. The
common Two-spotted and Six-spotted kinds are
shown in Plate VI., both in the larva state and in
the perfect form. These two apparently different
insects are simply the two sexes of one kind, which
were, however, described as distinct species by all
the entomologists of the last generation, to whom
Coccinella Variabilis, another species, is indebted
for above twenty names from different authors. This
extreme disposition to vary in colour and markings
is now well known, and careful investigations have
considerably reduced the supposed number of dis-
tinct species. The eggs of the best known species
are bright yellow, small, flattish, and of oval form ;
they are deposited close together, in patches of
twenty or thirty, and are to be found during the
summer months glued to the leaves of various

248

THE BUTTERFLY VIYAlllUM.

plants, a leaf being always selected which is sure to
become peopled with their future prey — the juicy
and delicious Aphides. The larvae are nearly black,
with a few obscure red marks. After the formation
of the chrysalis, which is somewhat in the form of
that of Chrysomela Ti'emidce, No. 6, Plate VII., the
perfect insect comes forth in a few days. The insect
in its perfect state still feeds voraciously on the
Aphides , and generally retires to the under side of
the leaf when its meal is completed. When the
natural food fails, as the autumn advances, these
insects retire in colonies beneath the bark of trees, or
other places of shelter, for the winter. In the spring
they soon pair, and deposit their eggs upon another
year’s crop of rose-leaves, and so another generation
of Lady -birds is provided for.

These pretty little Beetles have given their names
as a typical distinction to a large family of insects
termed Coccinellklcc , which, calculating all the
exotic kinds, contains twenty-two genera and above
one hundred species, distributed in the five quarters,
or rather divisions of the earth. Most of the loreign
species are of rather dull colours, none surpassing
the brilliancy of our little native scarlet kinds. In
some seasons, when “ the Ply,” a species of Aphis ,
is most numerous in hop-grounds, the Lady-birds

COLEOPTERA BEETLES.

249

are generally equally abundant, tliougli not always ;
and it would not he logical to infer that such
arrangements are direct providential interferences
to prevent the undue preponderance of a particular
class of creatures, seeing that we are not in posses-
sion of a sufficient number of facts to grasp all the
hearings of questions of that class, the most favourite
of our hypotheses being sadly interfered with by
such facts as the vegetation of half a continent
being devastated by innumerable swarms of locusts
whilst no counteracting influence can he detected.

The Lady-bird is very tenacious of life, and will
live a considerable time when plunged in ardent
spirits. It is said that the entomological studies
of the Lev. William Kirby commenced with the
interest excited by a Lady-bird which he had placed
in spirits of wine, and which after twenty-four
hours’ immersion flew away upon being taken out
of the spirit.

Among the prettiest kinds may be noted the
Twenty-two- spotted ( Vigintiduo-punctata ) and the
Eleven-spotted, having eleven spots, on a ground of
yellow, on each wing, This last is a very elegant
species.

Before quitting the subject of Beetles suited
to the Vivarium, I must not omit to recommend

250

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

especially tlie Gold-chafer, or Hose-beetle, decidedly
one of the most splendid of his tribe, and which
has the additional advantage over most insects in
its unusual longevity; A Hose-beetle was once
known to go on living in apparent health, and re-
joicing in the brilliancy of his bronze and golden ar-
mour even for eight years, as an insect pet, fed upon
soaked crusts, etc.; and there are several recorded
instances of one being kept for terms of three and
four years. Some naturalists have accounted for
this unusual length of existence on the ground of
the insect having been solitary, and not allowed to
pair. It is, in fact, well known that insects possess
an extraordinary tenacity of life till the great
end of their existence, the continuation of their
species, has been effected. A female Moth about to
deposit her eggs, for instance, cannot he destroyed
by any amount of torture till she has laid the very
last egg. She will continue her work of maternity
undisturbed by half-a-dozen pins driven through her
body, and any number of drops of prussic acid
poured upon or around her.

Then there is the great Stag-beetle, the giant of
our native Coleoptera , which might be tried in the
Vivarium ; and if it were not found to do mischief,
it would form a conspicuous and striking figure in

COLEOPTERA — BEETLES.

251

the little landscape, stalking about a very Rhinoceros
among the smaller game. A few of the pretty little
Sun-beetles, with their dazzling coats of bronze,
might be tried ; and the glitter of their movements
during a gleam of sunshine could not fail to he
highly pleasing. But then I must caution the
curator of the Vivarium against over-crowding, and
particularly against exposing the case to the heat
of the midday sun, which would infallibly destroy
many of the tender-skinned Caterpillars.

CHAPTER XIII.

ON THE OTHER ORDERS OF INSECTS, WITH BRIEF
ALLUSIONS TO SUCH AMONG- THEM AS ARE FIT
SUBJECTS FOR THE VIVARIUM.

of insects best fitted for the Viva-

rest. Nevertheless, in order to give a general
view, however brief, of the manner in which the
whole of the insect tribes, as far as known, are
reduced to scientific order and arrangement, I must
in this short Chapter just refer to the position of
each order, and to the general characteristics of the
insects which have been assigned to it.

I shall adopt, in this brief statement, the ge-

Nenroptera, having been discussed
at some length, considering the re-
stricted form of this volume, as the
three orders containing the classes

, Lepidopterci, and

rium, I can only briefly allude to
those remaining orders which pre-
sent fewer objects of popular inte-

THE INSECT ‘ORDERS.’

253

neral division and order of arrangement adopted by
Mr. Westwood, in his modern “ Classification of
Insects,” which though necessarily a voluminous
work, exhibits the whole subject in a more com-
pact, easily understood, and truly regular form
than any work I am acquainted with.

1. The Coleoptera , or Beetles, occupy the place
of honour, and stand at the head of the great pha-
lanx of insect life.

2. Then comes a small order recently separated,

and called J Eupleccoptera. It contains only the

Forficulida , or Earwig tribe, which, from the pecu-
liar formation of the broad, clieese-knife-sliaped
wing, has been considered very distinct to all other
classes of the order Orthoptera , to which it was
attached when first separated from Coleoptera.

3. Then follows the extensive order Orthoptera ,
termed Deraloptera by Clairville, and JJlonata by
Eabricius. This order contains that class of insects
which may be represented, in their general cha-
racter, by the Cockroaches, Soothsayers, Walking-
stick insects, Leaf-insects, Crickets, Locusts, etc.
In their internal anatomy, many of the insects of
this great and distinct order exhibit such a supe-
rior degree of development, as to have led the
eminent Erench naturalist, M. Marcel de Serres, to

254

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

regard them as entitled to hold the foremost rank
among insects, and occupy the first position in
every method of classification. One of the most
easily understood features in this order is the short-
ness of their horny wing-shields, which instead of
extending from the point where they join the main
part of the body, to the end of the abdomen, gene-
rally extend but a short distance along the back,
and the wings fold beneath them in a very intricate
and beautiful manner. But this leading feature
varies, as indicated in the characters of the insects
named as generally illustrating the order. Many of
the species of Orthoptera are distinguished for their
musical qualities, as Crickets and Grasshoppers,
■while others are remarkable as being among the
largest of known insects. These last, however,
principally belong to the tropics, and among them
is the truly splendid Metallyticus Splendens from
Malabar. The largest of our native Orthoptera is
the Mole Cricket, a curious creature, which should
be tried in the Vivarium, though he would be
seldom visible ; and the next, the Great Green
Grasshopper.

4. The order Thysanoptera comprises only one
family of minute insects, the characteristics of
which I must not stay to describe.

THE INSECT ‘ ORDERS.’

255

5. The interesting order Neuroptera is the next
in succession, hut it has been already sufficiently
described in Chapter XI., when describing our
native and some of the exotic Dragon-flies.

6. The order Trichoptera comprises those sin-
gular insects, the wings of some of which are scaled
like those of Lepidoptera , a few of the larvae of
which, with their curious cases of sand, shells, or
chips, should find a place in the Vivarium. The
whole number of the species of Caddis fly known
to Olivier was only seventy-seven, while, by more
persevering researches, M. Pictet of Geneva has
discovered a hundred and twenty distinct kinds in
Switzerland alone.

7. The order Hymenoptera — that is, the trans-
parent-winged class — comprises a great number of
insects, and in that respect rivals Coleoptera , but
most of them are of rather small size. In many,
as the Bees and Wasps, all of which may serve as
types of this class, the larvae are maggot-formed —
that is to say, legless — but the larvae of the Sand-
flies very closely resemble the caterpillars of Lepi-
doptera, except in having a greater number of
ventral legs. The legless larvae of this order are
provided with food by the parents, as before de-
scribed, those of the Ichneumons being placed so

256

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

as to feed upon tlie bodies of otlier insects while in
the larva or imperfect state. Among insects living
in societies, these helpless larvae are sometimes
tended by the neuters, as among Ants and some
kinds of Bees. This order formerly made part of
Neuroptera, but Linnaeus separated it, under the
title of “ Gymnoptera ,” or “ naked-' wings,” a term
which he subsequently abandoned in favour of the
present name.

8. The order Strepsiptera consists, as the name
implies, of insects having obsolete anterior wings,
and large rounded posterior ones. They are a
small and inconspicuous class.

9. The order Lepidoptera follows, which has been
sufficiently described in Chapters VII. and VIII.

10. The order Homoptera contains a class of
insects with clear wings, the anterior pair of which
is larger than the posterior. Among this group of
insects many singular forms occur. In European
species, the musical Cicaclce , those curious and some-
times frightful-looking Lobster-headed Elies, whose
pleasing song or chirp lias been so often described
by the Latin poets. The song of these creatures is
said to be produced by a distended internal mem-
brane, acted upon by powerful muscles, the sound
issuing through two small apertures situated near

THE INSECT 4 ORDERS.’

257

the last pair of legs* It has been noticed that the
males only have the power of producing this sound,
and hence the couplet — •

“ Happy the Cicada lives,

Since they all have voiceless wives.”

The female Cicaclce are furnished with a singularly
powerful instrument, by means of which they bore
holes in trees, in .which they deposit their eggs.
The curious Cuckoo -spit, the Aphides , and the
Coccidce also belong to this class, as well as those
most singular of insects, the Lantern-flies of the
tropics.

11. The order Heteroptera contains the Boat-
flies and a few other aquatic insects, such as the
Water Scorpion and the Water Bunner, along with
many tropical insects of singular forms.

12. The order Aphaniptera contains the family
of Pulicklce , or Pleas, which, as the name of the
order implies, have no wings, or only rudimental
ones. Many curious things are known concerning
Pleas, and many singular enough anecdotes might he
told about them; hut, in deference to the delicacy
of my female readers, I will abstain from any details
concerning this family. It will, however, he inte-
resting to state that this is one of the insects which
Aristotle positively asserted to he produced from

s

258

TIIE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

the earth by spontaneous generation. Their Latin
name, Fulex , too, is said to be derived from pulvis ,
dust, which shows that a similar popular idea
was prevalent in Italy as well as Greece. Even in
modern times, the learned Scaliger thought they
were produced spontaneously from the humous
matter about the roots of the hair of dogs. The
female lays about twelve eggs, which become, when
hatched, small, slender, worm-like larvae. These
enter into the usual pupa state, and at last the
perfect Elea appears.

13. The order Filter a contains, as the name
implies, those insects which have only two wings
instead of four. As well-known examples, the tribe
of Common House-flies may be cited. Among the
Eorest-flies, known as the Hippoboscidce, the egg
passes to the larva and pupa state before it is laid,
and is eventually deposited by the parent in the
form of a small oval chrysalis, from which curious
aberration it might have been inferred that this
insect did not, like all others, pass through the usual
stages of development, but was hatched from the
egg in its perfect form, like a chicken. The term
Dipt era is one of those highly characteristic dis-
tinctive names invented by Aristotle, which is likely,
as in the case of his picturesque term Coleoptera ,

THE INSECT £ ORDERS.’

2-59

to continue in permanent use, notwithstanding
the changes of nomenclature which modern ento-

O

mologists are continually introducing. This last-
named order was not a favourite one with mediaeval
entomologists, Moses Harris having been the first
among English naturalists to pay much attention
to it. Recent continental authors have, however,
devoted much study to its illustration; as Mac-
quart’s fine monograph on the Dipt era of the north
of Erance, and Meigen’s six portly volumes on the
Dipt era of Europe, are sufficient proof. The Gnat*
families, the Culicidce , are of this order, and also the
genus Chironomus Plumosus, the singular thread-
like larvae of which are popularly known as Blood-
worms, and found in stagnant waters. The well-
known Daddy-long-legs and all his family, the
Tipiclidce, are true Dip ter a, as are the iStrationidce ,
those metallic-bodied Elies of rich colours, which
have received their name from the Greek word
meaning a soldier, in allusion to the bright uniform
which they wear. The larvae of some, but not all,
of these are aquatic. The voracious Empidcc belong
to this order, and also the Gad-flies.

14. The order Syrpkidce contains about thirty

* It is only the female G-nat that is a blood-sucker, the males
feeding on the nectar of flowers.

260

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

genera, consisting principally of a pretty class of
Elies, which in their colour and markings closely
resemble Bees and Wasps, from which they may he
at once distinguished hy their single pair of wings.
They are also distinguished from Dipt era hy several
tolerably well-marked characters, among which that
of the sometimes brightly coloured larvae, which,
like those of the Lady-hird, feed upon Aphides,
may he noted as the principal ; hut the short and
robust form of the body and other peculiarities are
amply sufficient to distinguish them.

This brief sketch of the entomological orders
will enable the student to form a pretty accurate
idea of the great outline of the method of classifi-
cation that has been generally adopted ; hut should
he wish to go more thoroughly into the subject, let
him get some complete technical work on the sub-
ject— Mr. Westwood’s two excellent volumes, for
instance, on the “ Modern Classification of In-
sects,” which, as the first serious step, is the best
I know of.

CHAPTER XIV.

OF THE TIMES, PLACES, AND SEASONS FOR COL-
LECTING INSECTS FOR THE VIVARIUM.

ITIT a little watchfulness — not very
'difficult to acquire — the collector for
Vivarium will soon discover that in-
teresting insects are to he found at all
times and all seasons, and almost in all
^ ^ places. In the house, and on a dark even-
ing in November would seem neither the time,
the place, nor the season likely to he very pro-
pitious for the capture of beautiful specimens of Le-
pidoptera; and yet at that season, with the window
just a little open and a light upon the table, Pceci-
locampa Populi , the December Moth, a remarkably
pretty insect, will be almost sure to make its ap-
pearance some time between seven and ten, if exist-
ing anywhere in the neighbourhood, not only in
November, hut even during part of December.
Petasia Cassinea will perhaps follow, another
pretty Moth, of which only one species was known
till very recently ; hut it will possibly delay its visit

262

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

till one or two in the morning. Several other kinds
may he taken at the same season.

But earlier in the autumn, and especially during
the period of high summer, a good collection of
Moths may he made any evening by sitting quietly
in a well-lighted drawing-room ; the only imple-
ment necessary being a light gauze net fixed at the
end of a long slender handle. The scaly-winged
visitors will not cease dropping in in rapid succes-
sion from early dusk till dawn, each species having
its unvarying period of flight, so that, with a little
practice, the watcher might tell the time of night
pretty accurately by the arrival of the different
species. Much amusement is afforded to the really
interested student, by observing the peculiarly
characteristic flight of each insect ; some dart to-
wards the ground, as Dheosia Dictcea , known as
the “ Swallow Prominent,” in consequence of its
resembling them in the swiftness of its flight and
also in the tones of its colouring. It belongs to
a class of Moths which have a slight prominence on
the hinder margin of the anterior wings, and the
Caterpillars having also curious humps on some of
the segments ; the class has been popularly distin-
guished by collectors as the “Prominents.” One of
these, in fact, hears the specific name of Drome -

TIMES, PLACES, AND SEASONS FOR COLLECTING. 263

clarius, or the Dromedary, in allusion to the hump
on the hack of the Caterpillar.

There are others which invariably fly towards
the ceiling, as Agrotis Corticea , a plain brown Moth.
Others fly with a more even course, while the rare
and pretty Cosmia Uyralina and Clisiocampa Neiis -
tria are very wild and violent, and dash recklessly
from the light to the ceiling or the floor.

Unnomas Illustrarici may he taken near a lamp
placed in the open air, as it always rushes towards it
and then falls down helpless, paralyzed by the glare.
The great Death’s-head Moth, the giant of our native
Lepicloptera , was taken a few years ago by the cook
in the kitchen of the Pavilion Hotel, at Polkestone ;
and another specimen by a baker at Canterbury, who
had justbeen reading an account of it in some periodi-
cal. But the best sport in the way of Motliing may
be secured by brushing on the trunks of garden trees
or those of the wood or orchard, a strong solution
of sugar, honey, and water, which attracts many
kinds in great numbers, and they are generally so
intent upon the banquet of sweets provided for
them that they are easily captured.

At early dawn is the best time for taking speci-
mens of the Hawk-moth family. I have heard
Mr. II. Doubleday describe the capture of the beau-

264

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

tiful specimen of the Galium Hawk-motli just before
sunrise, in his own garden, as it was flying swiftly
over a group of rose-trees. It has been observed
lately that this beautiful insect, since the introduc-
tion of the Petunia, is more often seen hovering
about the flowers of that jilant than any other.
While the Elephant Hawk-moth, as Mr. Douglas
states, appears to prefer the llhododendron blossom.
The V alerian is very attractive to many night-flying
Moths, and the Jasmine is a favourite with many
of the larger kinds ; and often, as Shelley has it, its
luscious perfume

“ Makes faint, with too much sweet, those heavy-winged thieves.”

Put it is for Caterpillars and groups of eggs
that the collector for the "Vivarium will be most
anxious, in order to witness the progress of the
metamorphoses. The larva of the Galium Hawk-
motli seems to have taken to the Euclisia, and must
he looked for at the beginning of June. It is gene-
rally full fed at the end of the month, and the Moth
appears in August. The larvae of the large Brown
Moth, Mamestra JBrassiccc , will he found about the
same time, on Cabbages. The larvae of the Yellow
Under wing Moths will generally he lound at the
roots of spring flowers, such as those of the Primrose
tribe hut almost all kinds of trees and plants will

TIMES, PLACES, AND SEASONS FOR COLLECTING. 265

yield a rich harvest, if properly examined, in May,
June, July, and August, before and after which pe-
riods the game is more scarce. The Oak generally
yields a rich spoil of this kind. Two or three large
sheets may be spread underneath while the branches
are beaten with long rods, and the result will be an
abundant harvest of several kinds of Lepidopterous
larvae, and probably some pretty Coleopterci. Many
rare kinds of larvae may be found on plants growing
near the sea-shore, not to mention the splendid Cater-
pillars of the Spotted Ilawk-motli found on the sea
spurge on the coast of Devonshire. Mr. Douglas in-
forms us that in November, 1849, he found on the
Carline Thistle, near Folkestone, a number of larvae
then unknown to him , which in the following J uly pro-
duced the Moth since named Farasia Carlmella , a
species before entirely new to English collectors.
Many other species, doubtless, remain to be dis-
covered in a similar manner ; or, at all events, if
the perfect insect should be known, the collector
may be the means of settling the identity of the
larvae, which in many cases remain undescribed, even
those of comparatively common species. The Cater-
pillar of Fieris Dapliclicce , the scarce Bath- white
Butterfly, must be sought near the shore, as the
perfect insect has never been taken far from the sea.

266

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

In tlie winter season Caterpillars may be found
hybcrnating under bark, among dead leaves, and in
other warm retreats, but they are not abundant.

Chrysalides may be sought for at all seasons,
especially by careful digging at the roots of trees.
The bases of the Elm, Oak, Ash, Beech, and 'Willow
appear to be the most favoured retreats, as there is
seldom much found .by digging about the Birch,
Maple, or Chestnut. Pieces of loose hark on old
stumps may he lifted up, and a perfect mine of
entomological wealth may sometimes come to hand
in that way. I recollect finding above sixty chry-
salides of the fine Bed Enderwing beneath a piece
of half- decayed willow bark, along with three or
four of the hairy Caterpillars of the Tiger-moth,
curled up in a dormant state for the winter months.

Beetles may be sought at all times. Beneath a
piece of loose wall-grown moss, under a great stone
that has lain long undisturbed, beneath a piece of
timber lying by the wayside, which, when rolled over,
will often disclose the retreats of many of our hand-
somest Beetles ; hut if late in the season, the captor
must he very active, or the most coveted prizes will
escape. In the winter they are much more easily
secured.

Some of the sea-sliore Beetles are very pretty,

TIMES, PLACES, AND SEASONS FOR COLLECTING. 267

sucli as Aepus Marinas , the Hobinii, and the beau-
tiful Cicindclidce. Mr. Wollaston, in his notes on the
“ Coleoptera of South Devon,” mentions the pleasing
effect produced by the glittering Gillenum Laterale
coming up minute holes in the sand, and running
about in the sunshine with glittering brightness.

In woods, many beautiful Beetles may be found,
though our native tribes of Forest Beetles are far
less extensive than those of the Continent. To con-
ceive the number, variety, and splendour of some
of the forest Coleoptera of Continental Europe, the
student should look over llatzeburgh’s magnificent
work on the insects injurious to forest trees. We
have, however, a sufficient variety of native Beetles
to render their pursuit highly interesting. In
the woods about April, the collector should not fail
to look under the bark about the roots of Birch
stumps for the singular larvae of JPyrochia Coccinea.
If they are placed in the Vivarium with a little of
the bark and decayed wood, they will soon become
pupae, and the perfect Beetle will appear in the
following June.

Many Beetles may be taken -by the “ sweeping-
net ” at night. This is a broad-mouthed net, strained
over a flat bow at the lower side, and held by a
stout handle. It is swept at each step with some-

268

TIIE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

thing like the action of mowing; and on being
examined occasionally, many captures will he found
to have taken place ; the greatest portion of them
worthless, hut some prizes will constantly occur.
This operation may he carried on from dusk till
as late in the night as the collector chooses. It
also answers in broad sunlight for another class of
insects.

Parks and old meadows are the best places for
sweeping ; where the turf, having been long un-
disturbed, has become the permanent home of many
kinds of insects.

A white sheet spread at night in a wood or
park, with a light upon it, will lead to plentiful
entomological sport ; hut I must dismiss this part
of the subject, for it would be impossible to refer to
half the devices invented for the capture of insects,
or to one-hundredth part of the insects that may he
so taken. Only let us consider the probable num-
ber of distinct species of insects already known to
naturalists, and it will be seen how hopeless it
would he in the confined space of this volume to
attempt their descriptions, except in a few cases,
in any other way than by sweeping generalizations.

Decandolle pursued the following method of
arriving at an approximation to tlie total number

TIMES, PLACES, AND SEASONS FOR COLLECTING. 269

of distinct species of insects. He first took the
number of the indigenous plants of France, few of
which can now remain unknown, and they amounted
to 7,194<; while the insects of the same country
amounted to the number of 15,000 known species.
Then, estimating the total number of species of
plants in the world, from our present knowledge, at
100,000 to 120,000, he found that, following the same
relative proportion, the calculation would establish
the total number of insects at about 300,000. We may,
therefore, as well he contented at once with a small
number of experiments in our little Yivarium, see-
ing that the inmates selected will he all the better
off for not being over-crowded.

Many opinions exist as to the relative advan-
tages or disadvantages of this vast world of insect
life. Guilio Cordera, in a work on the subject, gravely
informs us that they were created for our annoyance
and punishment, after our expulsion from Paradise;
and that they did not exist in the garden of Eden.
Others, however, look upon them from an entirely
opposite view, assuring us that they are intended
for the exclusive benefit and enjoyment of man, so
soon as he shall he wise enough to understand their
uses ; and the account to which we have turned the
cocoon of the Silk-worm and the dye of the Coclii-

270

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

neal-insect are cited as but beginnings. The follow-
ing are a few of the instances cited by different
authors of the uses to which insects have been put
in various countries.

The larva of the Cossus was fed on flour by
the Homans, and fatted to an enormous size, as
a delicacy for the tables of the wealthy senators of
the eternal city. Livingstone describes many hinds
of larvae which are eaten with extraordinary relish
by the native negro races ; and 'our own English
colonists of Demerara, as I am informed by a
friend who has partaken of the luxury, have
learnt to consider the larva of large tropical Beetles
a most delicious dish. These facts may shock the
delicate sensibilities of many unaccustomed to such
fare, and yet one would think that Shrimp-eaters,
and, still more, Oyster-eaters, need not feel asto-
nished even at the Chinese eaters of stewed Silk-
worm chrysalides, or at Arabian Locust-eaters.

Insects once formed a class of medicines which
were considered highly effective in certain cases;
and there was a time when three Gnats were taken
as a dose, just as three grains of calomel might be
taken now; while three drops of Lady-bird milk
were formerly prescribed as seriously as a small dose
of some fashionable medicine of the present day.

TIMES, PLACES, AND SEASONS FOR COLLECTING. 271

But to return to our Collecting : it will be
found, I think, advantageous in the first season to
confine our care to a very small circle of subjects,
and in general it will be more convenient, and
perhaps even more interesting, at all events on the
score of beauty, to confine the inmates of the
Vivarium to the larvae and chrysalides of Butterflies
and Moths, with the addition of a few larvae of
Dragon-flies in the water, and not, of course, for-

i

getting our friends the Lady-birds.

CHAPTER XV.

OP THE HEARING OP EXOTIC INSECTS PROM
IMPORTED EGGS OR CHRYSALIDES.

T tlie time that I first published my work
r entitled “British Butterflies and
Ac their Transformations,” now many
years ago, I suggested the pos-
sibility of rearing some of the most magni-
ficent of exotic insects in our liot-liouses
and conservatories, and even, in some in-
stances, in the open air, writli a view to their
permanent establishment in the country.

On turning to my former volume, I find the
following passage in the Preface : “ Though we

cannot transplant the flowers of the tropics to our
bleaker soil, it appears by no means so impossible
to naturalize some of their most splendid insects.
Their system of hybernation in the pupa-case, in
which state insects have been found to resist almost
any degree of cold without injury, forming a na-
tural means of shielding them from the effects

Plate VIII

1. Phnltena Regia, a North American Moth.

2. The Caterpillar of Rhalana Regia.

—

■

5

.

REARING EXOTIC INSECTS.

273

our long winters; and from tliis state their de-
velopment would not take place till the warmth
of summer was sufficient. Taking advantage of
this knowledge, we may, by means of imported
eggs or pupae, he gratified hy the sight of tro-
pical Butterflies flitting from flower to flower, a
splendid novelty to our gardens, exhibiting colour-
ing far more gorgeous than anything in the vege-
table empire, and endowed moreover with the ad-
ditional charm of motion.”

At that time I received letters from many
persons, in answer to my suggestion ; among
others, from one of our most enthusiastic natu-
ralists, the Bev. W. T. Bree, of Allesley ; and from
the spirit in which the idea seemed to he taken
up, especially with reference to rearing some of
the more splendid tropical species in hot-houses,
I expected, ere this, to have seen some of our
most celebrated receptacles of exotic plants glitter-
ing with the far more brilliant colours of Brazilian
or Australasian Butterflies. I calculated upon wit-
nessing, within a few succeeding seasons, the
noble JPapilio JPriamus , ivith its wings of golden
metallic green, relieved with velvet black, flitting
leisurely from flower to floAver, or jostling in its
flight with the gayer movements of some Brazilian

274

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

beauty of the Morpho family, which in its turn
would dazzle the eyes with the resplendent silvery
azure of its wings of shining satin.

I have, however, been destined to disapp ointment.
With one brilliant exception, to be described in some
detail in this Chapter, little has been yet done. I
must, however, note a few exceptions to this
sweeping assertion. Mr. H. Doubleday succeeded
in rearing to maturity the eggs of the giant
Moth, Saturnia JPavonia Major , sent over by his bro-
ther, who was at that time in America ; and, turn-
ing them loose in Epping Eorest, he hoped in that
way to naturalize that magnificent species. He was,
however, frustrated in his experiment, more than
one of these large and conspicuous insects being
caught and brought back to him, within a
day or two, ready pinned through the body, and
“ set out ” for preserving, the captor deeming that
he had secured a most unusually valuable prize, for
which he expected a proportionate reward. Some
others of the brood were found dead and mutilated ;
probably by birds that feed principally upon winged
insects. In short, the glorious Saturnia Tavonia
Major has not become naturalized in Epping Eorest
— no single specimen having ever been seen since
that season.

REARING EXOTIC INSECTS.

275

I was present at a little entomological dinner

some few years ago, to witness tlie expansion of

some two or three dozen chrysalides of the handsome

«/

continental Butterfly, JPapilio Podalirius, from
which the perfect insects were thought to he just
upon the point of emerging. They had heen brought
from the Bhine country, where they are very plen-
tiful, hy our host, who was an enthusiastic collector.
During the dessert, the progress of the chrysalides
became very rapid, necessarily attracting all atten-
tion from the biscuits and decanters. We were in
fact just in time to witness the escape of several of
them from their pupa-cases. After trying their
limp wings for a time, as if for the very purpose of
exhibiting to us their lovely primrose colour varie-
gated with black zebi“ like stripes, they took
flight through the open window, and wTe watched
them out of sight, flitting over the flowers of the
neighbouring gardens.

Nevertheless, no specimen of Tapilio Todali-
rius, popularly known as the Scarce Swallow-tail,
have ever since heen found in that neighbourhood.
These examples appear, at a glance, to show the
hopelessness of any attempt to introduce foreign
Lepidoptera ; hut I am still convinced — at all events
in the case of P. JPodalirius and many species

276

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

common in the north of Prance and Germany — that
their introduction is still practicable ; hut then the
experiment must he tried on a large scale, and the
Chrysalides must he allowed to expand naturally in
the open air ; or, what is better, the insect should
he introduced in the egg state; the eggs being
allowed to hatch naturally in the open air, and the
Caterpillar left at perfect liberty.

I recollect, when in Paris, seeing at the house
of Dr. Boisduval, the well-known entomologist, the
Caterpillar of an exotic Butterfly, the magnificent
Jason, feeding on the leaves of an orange-tree in
his salon. And I believe they were successfully
reared ; hut whether any attempt was made to
naturalize the species in the neighbourhood of Paris
by that means I am not aware.

However, of this I am certain, from the result
of a practical experiment about to he described,
that if eggs of almost any kind of exotic Butter-
fly or Moth were imported and placed in a per-
manently suitable temperature, either in the ample
area of a large conservatory, or the more limited
space of such a Vivarium as the one described in
this little volume, that a highly satisfactory result
would, with due care, be almost inevitable. TV e find,
in fact, that without care, and simply from increased

REARING EXOTIC INSECTS. 277

intercourse with other countries, that many new in-
sects are establishing themselves as natives ; as an
instance of which I may mention the beautiful
purple Beetle Callidium Violctceum , represented in
Plate YII., which was once extremely rare; but
since the vast importation of timber for railway
purposes, in which the insect has come over in its
larva state, it has become quite common.

I also suspect that many professional dealers
have been exceedingly successful (under the rose) in
introducing rare insects only vaguely reported as
British, by means of imported eggs or larvae, which
they have placed in suitable situations, and then
captured the perfect insect in actual flight — selling
it at a high price as an extraordinary British rarity.
If such should have been the case with the fine
Moth, the “ Kentish Glory,” hitherto so rare in
England, the experiment must have been indeed
triumphant, as the beech woods of Bannoch now
absolutely swarm with them. This I believe,
however, to have been a genuine “find” of the
habitat of an extremely local insect. And yet it
appears strange that a Moth so conspicuous, both for
size and colouring, should have continued entirely
unnoticed by Scotch entomologists, if it had always
existed there in such abundance.

278

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

But I must at once proceed to describe the
highly successful 'experiment upon which I chiefly
ground my hopes of future success. I refer to the
recent rearing of the beautiful and interesting
Leaf-insect, Fliyllium Scythe , which was success-
fully reared from the egg in one of the plant-houses
of the Botanic Gardens of Edinburgh. Mrs. Black-
wood, the wife of Major Blackwood, H.E.I.C.S., when
residing with her husband in India, in the Assam dis-
trict, where he had been stationed, found this insect
plentiful in all its stages in the valleys below Cherra-
Poonjie, in the Kasiali Hills which form part of the
southern boundary of the low grounds of Assam. She
collected specimens, and placed them on a Guava
tree in front of her own residence, which they did not
attempt to leave till they attained their perfect state.

On returning to Europe, Mrs. Blackwood endea-
voured to bring some living specimens with her ;
but, after keeping them in health during greater
part of the journey, they sickened and died while
crossing the Mediterranean. But this enterprising
lady -naturalist was not to be beaten by one defeat,
and she immediately made an attempt to introduce
the insect by means of imported eggs. These were
duly procured, but the first batch was unsuccessful ;
and it was not till 1854 that some eggs, which had

REARING EXOTIC INSECTS.

279

arrived by post, were hatched, on the 9th and 10th
of May, others continuing to come out till June.
Two of the specimens thus hatched were entrusted
to the care of Mr. M’Nab, the intelligent curator of
the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens. They refused the
leaves of the Guava, upon which they were first
placed, and also of several other plants of the Myrtle
family. They were then tried upon a Euclisia with
equally unfavourable results, hut at last the com-
mon European Myrtle was tried, and this time the
insects seemed to recognize suitable food, and soon
became healthy and vigorous feeders, and never
sought to leave the plant.

The appearance of the larva in its first stage
is not altogether unlike that of the Lady-bird,
having only six feet, disposed in a similar manner.
It is, however, much larger, and the leafy character
already shows itself in the upper joints of the legs,
and slightlv in the edge of the abdomen. It is at
first of a brownish yellow colour, but when it has
once settled to feed, it soon assumes a bright green
colour. It bears its tail slightly curled up, just
about as much as the curve of the Myrtle leaf ; but
the curve would be the wrong way, were it not that
it walks back downwards, being found on the under
side of the leaf, in which position it is so like the

280

THE BUTTERFLY YIYARIUM.

leaves themselves that it is difficult to distinguish it.
It has no wings in the first stage, while the antenna}
are invariably in the female form, and the legs like
those of a male. The Leaf-insect undergoes three
moults. Those reared hy Mr. M’Nah were
hatched in June, 1854, and did not moult for the
first time till ten months afterwards, in April, 1855.
It was at first nearly one inch long, and not much
larger when it underwent its first moult. It then,
however, grew rapidly, and the antennae increased
their number of joints just as the joints of the My-
riapods increase after each casting of the skin. It
was noticed that the insect ate up its cast-off skin -
a fact never before noticed in the natural history
of insects, though Mr. T. Bell mentions, in his work
on British Beptiles, a similar instance in the Toad.

The second ecdysis or moult took place on the
lltli of the following July, after which the wings
made their appearance, though very small. The
third moult took place on the 17th of September,
when full-grown wings and complete antenna} were
produced. The insects were observed to he very
lively the day before the moult, casting their bodies
about in a singular manner, as though to loosen
the skin.

After the last moult they increased very rapidly

REARING EXOTIC INSECTS.

281

in size; those portions of the body which first escaped
from the skin expanded suddenly to one-fonrtli
greater size than the parts remaining imprisoned
in the old envelope, and in this state the insect ap-
peared curiously one-sided. The increase in the size
of the locust, after the last casting of the skin, is said
to be equally remarkable. In the Leaf-insect under
description, the wings, on escaping from their cases,
were not more than one quarter of an inch long, hut
at once shot out to their full length in a very sur-
prising manner. The entire creature, though so
suddenly increased in general dimensions, was at
first very soft and tender, and only very slowly
acquired its proper consistency.

After the first two moults it had become each
time more freshly and beautifully green ; but after
the last, the green was bordered with yellow, which
gradually turned to brown, like the leaves of trees
in the autumn; and by degrees the whole insect
became brown, like a leaf about to fall. This is the
sign of its decay, which seems, like its form, to have
some extraordinary analogy with that of real leaves.
Luring the rearing of the Leaf-insect, the plant-
house in which it was placed was kept at 55 degrees
as constantly and evenly as possible, that being
about the temperature of its native climate.

282

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

Throughout the summer of 1855 the Botanic
Garden was constantly crowded with visitors to see
the “Leaf-insect,” and at last Mr. M 5 Nab, the curator,
was compelled to give notice that it would only be
shown during four days of the week, as it was found
that the continual disturbance was unfavourable to
the health of the insect. Luring the principal part of
its life, after the first moult, it so closely resembled
the leaves of the plant, that many visitors declared
they could see nothing, and the Phyllium had to he
stirred and made to move, when they were con-
vinced, by seeing it crawl from the plant on to
the finger of the attendant.

Mr. Murray, who described the insect in the
“ Edinburgh Philosophical Journal,” considers that
the rearing of Leaving-insects will become a common
amusement to those who have a love of natural
history, and that these curious creatures will be-
come as much the usual pets of our conservatories
as Canary-birds are of our drawing-rooms ; and it is
evident that other kinds of beautiful insects might
he reared as successfully, if the same care were
bestowed.

The Leaf-insect appears to he peculiar to the
Eastern World. Three of the thirteen known species
have come from the Philippine Islands, three from

REARING EXOTIC INSECTS.

283

the East Indies and Ceylon, one from Java, one
from the Mauritius, one from the Sechelle Islands,
and four from unknown places in the East. Our
species, P. Scythe , was first described by Mr. George
Gray, from the fine specimen in the British Museum,
which was received from Silhet, a district adjoining
Assam.

There is much to be learned respecting the rear-
ing of exotic insects from the work of Dr. Horsfield,
who was led to the study of insects, in Java, while
pursuing his botanical studies in that island. When
at Surakarta, the seat of the chief of the Javanese
princes, he instructed native artists to make draw-
ings of the curious larvae which were brought to
him, in all their successive stages. Each Cater-
pillar, he tells us, was placed in a separate rearing-
cage, which was numbered, and certain natives had
the exclusive charge of keeping them clean and
furnishing them daily with fresh provisions. As
drawings of each Caterpillar were taken in all its
stages, according to its number, so, when the
perfect insect appeared, a drawing was made of it
under the same number ; and so the whole of the
metamorphoses of a large number of splendid exotic
insects, especially Butterflies, were ascertained be-
yond the possibility of error ; many of which were

284

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

published in the first two numbers of Dr. Horsfield’s
beautiful work, which was unfortunately not com-
pleted. The extraordinary cession of the Island
of J ava to the Dutch, after the war, put a stop to
Dr. Horsfield’s researches in that quarter ; as also
to the still more important investigations of Sir
Stamford Daffies, the discoverer of the now well-
known giant “flower” named after him, Hafflesia ,
and which measured several feet across the disc.

Abbot, in the southern districts of the United
States, especially in Georgia, was equally successful
in rearing a great number of Butterflies and Moths
from the egg and caterpillar stages ; and in his
magnificent work, “ The Insects of Georgia,” has
given a series of remarkably beautiful plates, shov -
ing the insects in their various stages. It is quite
evident, from the manner in which he describes his
management of the rearing process, that it might
be performed with equal success in England ; and
I recommend all who set up a Vivarium, or who
have a conservatory that can be kept at a certain
temperature, to write to their friends in the Brazils,
in India, in China, at the Cape of Good Hope, or
in Australia, or Demerara, or any other British
settlement, to send them by post eggs of Lepidop
ter a, which can be easily procured from the natives;

REARING EXOTIC INSECTS.

285

and also to collect and forward chrysalides whenever
an opportunity of safe and speedy transit occurs.

One of the most striking plates in Abbot’s
“ Insects of Georgia” is that representing the trans-
formation of a large and handsome Moth, to which
he gives the old Linnaean name, Rlialcena Regia, re-
presented in my Plate VIII. Nos. 1 and 2. The sin-
gular Caterpillar of this Moth has been selected by
Dr. Boisduval as one of the types which he has
engraved in his well-known work on Lepidoptera.
Abbot describes this Caterpillar as feeding on the
Hiccory, and as being much dreaded by the slaves
of the Southern States, who called it “ the horned
devil,” in consequence of its ferocious appearance.
Nevertheless, it is perfectly harmless, though all the
arguments in the world would not persuade the Ne-
groes to that effect, even though Dr. Abbot handled
it fearlessly in their presence. It is of a fine light
green, the head and singular spines being finely varie-
gated with orange. I recommend young entomolo-
gists to write at once to some friend in America to
obtain eggs of this species ; for a brood of these very
magnificent larvae, with their noble crest of spines,
would form a group of such striking interest in a
Vivarium as not to require the addition of any
other attraction.

286

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

In proposing to attempt the rearing of exotic
insects, one ought not to forget the Beetle tribe ;
and when something more is known of the larvae of
exotic Beetles, it may certainly he attempted with
the same success as that which has attended the
Orthopterous insect I* hy Ilium Scythe. When this

shall he attempted, what glorious things we shall
he enabled to see expand before our eyes ! Only
let us imagine some of the Curculionidce , just
issuing fresh from the pupa state ; Prcepodes
Regcdis, for instance, a Curculio from St. Domingo,
a specimen of which is preserved by the Linnaean
Society, mounted as a gem, in a gold ring ; or the
Diamond Beetle, in all the fresh glory of his first
escape from the nymphine prison. But I must say
no more on exotic Beetles at present, or there
would never he an end of talking — even of the superb
Curculionidce alone, of which the reader may he
easily convinced when we refer him for further
information to the work of Schcenherr on the
genera and species of Curculionidce, which extends
to fourteen ponderous volumes.

In conclusion, I recommend inexperienced en-
tomologists establishing a Vivarium for the first
time, to attempt one without water, as more easy
to manage : and to confine themselves for the first

O '

REARING EXOTIC INSECTS.

287

season entirely to the rearing of the larva of Moths
and Butterflies. To he entirely successful in this
department, it only requires a common degree of
care in keeping the sun from the case when too
powerful; in ensuring sufficient ventilation; pro-
viding fresh food continually, for which purpose it
is better to gather the sprays with matured leaves,
instead of young shoots ; and, above all, to keep the
case as clean as possible.

Some have raised objections to the introduction
of water at all into a Butterfly Vivarium, as cal-
culated to render the case too damp for any terres-
trial larvae; hut, with a certain amount of open-
work for ventilation, this would be impossible, as
the evaporations would escape, and not he con-
densed and deposited again, as in close Tern- cases.
The fact is, that the rearing of Caterpillars is more
generally unsuccessful from too much dryness than
from over moisture. Tor instance, the larvae of the
Death’s-head Moth, when artificially reared, often
die during their pupation from over- dryness ;
while, if the receptacle in which they are confined
he buried in the ground, to ensure a constant
degree of moisture, hut of course not wet , their
rearing is almost uniformly successful. I antici-
pate, therefore, that the addition of the tank, when

288

THE BUTTERFLY VIVARIUM.

the management of an Insect-case or Vivarium is
thoroughly understood, will he found not only un-
objectionable, but, on the contrary, of great advan-
tage to the whole economy of the little establish-
ment, by keeping up a steady and yet but slight
degree of moisture among the plants, and in the
earth in which the larvae burrow to undergo their
change.

THE END.

London : Printed by Thomas Harrild, 11, Salisbury Square, Fleet Street.

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By H. NOEL HUMPHREYS.

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Creator. — Athenaeum.

MESSRS. J. & W. SANDERS,

Who designed the Exhibition in the Zoological Gardens, and who were the
first to introduce the Aquarium to the Public, are now constructing

BUTTERFLY VIYARIA,

In accordance with the plan described in this Volume, at the following Prices :

3 ft. 0 in. long, 2 ft. 6 in. high, and 1 ft. 6 in. wide ... £400

2 „ 6 „ 2 „ 0 ,, 1 ,, 4 „ ... 3 10 0

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Specimens may be seen at Messrs. Sanders’s Manufactory,

No. 1R Guilford Street, Gray’s Inn Road.

Mr. GARDENER,

Oe No. 52, HIGH HOLBORN,

Has undertaken to procure the eggs, larvae, or chrysalides of any of the
well-known British Moths or Butterflies ; and also expects to receive this
season the eggs or chrysalides of several exotic kinds — especially those of
Saturnia Pavonia Major , and other continental species.

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