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Thto iMn ia ffimad at tlw radueUon ratio elMetod btlow / te deeuRMM Mt film* w tMtx dt rMuotion Intfiiii* ot-dMMHM. lOx 14x 18x 12x 1«x 2Qx 22x 26x 30x y a4x 2tx D 32x fllnfMd »M«« hM bMn ra^rodMMrf thwUw Matloiua Litaary of Canada L'ammptoiit ffilin* firt ra^rotfuit trie* * It HhUntK^tina nationals du ffinMn Tho imafot aypoarinfl hora aro ilio boat quaUiy poMiWa MfMidorinfl iho comNiion and ioflibiliiy of tho orifinol aopv and in hooping witli tlw I or "oot apooif ioadona. Originol copios in printod papor covoro aro fUmod tooginnina with ttM front covor and anding on ttM loot pago wttti a printod or iUuatratod improo- •ion. or tho bock covor whon approprioto. A« othor originol eopioo aro filmod boginning on tho firM pogo with a printod or illuatrotod improa- •ion. ond ending en tho last pago with o printod or iUuotrotod improasion. Tho ioat recorded frame on oech microfiche •hell contain the symbol -♦• (mooning "CON- TII«UEO"l. or the symbol ▼ (mooning "END I. wtMOhowor op^os. 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Toua lee autras eaompiairea originoua sent fUmde en eomm«n«ant par la premidro pogo gui eomporto uno emprointe dimprosaion ou d'Wuatration et en torminant par la damidfo pago qui eomporta una telle Un dee symbolaa suivants apparaitra sur la temidra image da cheque microfiche, selon lo eoa: la symbolo -*> signif io "A SUIVRE". lo symbola ▼ aignifia "PIN". Las eaftM. planahao. taMeaua. etc.. pouvent itre filmda d dee taua do rdduetion diffdronts. uiraque lo doeumont oat trop grand pour itre roproduit en un soul clichd. il est film* d partir da I'angle aupdrieur gauche, do gauche * droite. et do hout on boa. en pronant la nombre d'imoges ndcesaaire. Us diagrammee suivanu illustrent lo mdthodo. 1 2 3 4 6 3 MMOOOfr MMUinON TKT CMMTr (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 3) IfilM |2£ US ^ ■H Itt Im ■ 2.2 u Ufi ■■■ m tH |2.0 u HH^I Kk . Mlftlft 1 us 1.4 ffl 11.6 /^PLED IM/OE Inc ICS} E4'a^-v J . y 2^^ J INSECT BIOGRAPHIES WITH PEN AND CAMERA DELIGHTFUL NATURE BOOKS tmifoam win nn raurvi PJLPJ. •^ 12 osas^c a Plha^PXS, f^ 216 HfM of tatt (^Mqr 8*e). ^^^ UMflnM CM piDin n cokMf • •*> HMihnwi hB liiflnA hhiliin PattlMr AfMd ia BMUnd. Br Olh« CLPifcw. 224|Mt«.l2Caiieiy|MPhi«.36 Bdtaf 0n boobi nihcf tot MMn, bojrit ot (Hli^ OMlMd^bt lU TIm rwikr Spidek Lipb .... The lace of • tpkkr, and ite BoMh-puta. 198 CHAPTER I THE LIPE-STORV OP THk LACEWING FLY iCktysopa vuilgaris) r\^ almost any evening during the ^^ summer twilight the charming Lacewing Fly may be seen; its curious flight alone will suffice to identify it. Bef een the hedge-rous of the lanes, in the garden paths, or along the woodland glades, it may be readily distinguished from the numerous moths that appear as the daylight declines. The flights of the ^ moths are very varied in character; some of the larger and dark-coloured kinds sweep past at a tremendous pace, their movements leaving doubt in the mind of the observer whether his eyes have not deceived him, while many of the smaller %and pale-coloured species flutter about like ^ind-tossed snow-flakes. Between these |wo extreme methods, every gradation of locomotion by flight may be observed m i4 tNSBCT BIOGRAPHIES 1' I' Distinct from all, however, appears that of another insect. It is apparently travel- ling along a straight line, its pale jilvery wings extended wide and rapidly vibrating, but its progress is so slow and laboured when compared with even the slowest- flying moth that we are reminded of a traction engine moving along a road on which motor-cars and cyclists are hurrying by. This slowly-progressing insect is the Lacewing Fly. Although I liken its progress to that of the traction engine, the fly itself is by no means a clumsy insect. Indeed, it is one of the most delicate and charming amongst British insects. Its body is of a pale emerald green, while its lace-like, silvery- grey wings are iridescent with lovely hues, varying from pink to greenjn the changing light. Also, its eyes are veritable living jewels, sparkling one moment like burn- ished gold, the next becoming rubies of the deepest crimson, only to quickly change again in the shifting light to emeralds of the brightest green ; hence it :> sometimes called the Golden-eyed Fly. The Lacewing Fly is easily captured li WITH PBN 4 ND CAMERA 15 with a sweep of the hand as it toils past in its slow and apparently laboured flight ; lest, however, my description of its aesthetic features should so tempt the inquiring observer, I must offer a word of warning. This lovely insect when captured in the hand almost immediately becomes offen- sive in the highest degree, for it can produce an odour so evil that, deceived by the insect's delicate form and pretty colours, its captor often fails to recognize in it the source of so vile a characteristic — so incongruous is the combination. This offensive trait probably protects the insect against the attacks of some of its foes ; and how excellent a protective device it is those of my readers who inadveitently handle a Lacewing Fly will soon discover, for the smell is not removed from the I finger.^ with one washing, and when gloves and clothes have become involved the unfortunate wearer is troubled with it for days afterwards. The Lacewing Fly is, indeed, the counterpart of the skunk amongst British insects. When gardeners become more scientific, and learn to recognize that many insects t6 INSECT BIOGRAPHIES which they ruthlessly exterminate are their best friends, the Lacewing Fly will hold a very high place in their estimation ; indeed they will find it extremely profitable to occasionally capture a few of them, or, even better, to collect their eggs for the express purpose of placing them in their green- houses. The eggs may frequently be found on the leaves of various plants in the garden and fields. In illustration Fig. I, a lilac leaf is shown on wh'ch may be seen eleven of these curious stalked eggs. Now, if a stem bearing such a leaf as this were transferred to a greenhouse during June, it is very prob- able that that simple action would entirely obviate the necessity for the use of tobacco paper and similar fumigating devices later on as a means of exterminating the aphides or blight; for the Lacewing Fly in its early stages is one of the natural foes of these troublesome pests. In Fig. 2, an enlarged view of one of these eggs is shown, and it is interesting to investigate the significance of its curious form and also how it was produced. The Lacewing Fly when ^gg depositing presses '■ .Stalked e^g.s .,f ,he I.acewing Klv-nat„ral si,e -! A magnihed view „f „ne of the eggs. 1- An abnorma! etfij • two e-L'^ Hn, ii i , ''^ '""' ^oS^ acp..>itcd (.11 (me tuot-talk '■ :^:::n'Hj;^:::;;:;:« i;'>-:>"-"^ -^' Hev(.Hng aph.de. 11 '!i!J 4 WITH PEN AND CAMERA 17 the end of the abdomen against a leaf and ejects a drop of glutinous fluid, which spreads into a tiny conical foot-stalk. The end of the abdomen is then quickly raised, and from the sumn.it of the deposited gluten a thread is drawn out, which hardens with exposure to the air. On the top of the thread she then deposits an egg. In from seven to eight days the larva emerges from the egg and the necessity for the long stalks on which the eggs ar^ placed then becomes obvious. The newly- hatched larva is a most voracious animal, and its appetite increases prodigiously as it grows. From one of a number of eggs which I had under close observation for the pre- paration of this chapter, in exactly seven days after it was deposited I witnessed the emergence of the larva. After it had burst through the shell it stood for several mmutes on the broken part at the end of the thread. Then it proceeded to feel its vvay carefully along the egg-stalk towards the leaf, on which I had placed several [aphides. As soon as it reached the leaf an aphis I8 INS2CT BIOGRAPHIES crossed its path, and, in spite of the fact that the aphis was double its own size, the larva immediately gripped it by means of the large mandibles with which it is armed. The aphis wriggled, but all in vain. At the end of twenty-five minutes the larva cast on one side the empty and shrunken skin of the aphis. Such was its first meal. When about ten days old it could, when hungry, devour aphides at the rate of thirty to forty per hour. Also, from experiments made, I discovered that aphides were not the only kind of food of which it would partake. It spent some considerable time amongst a batch of eggs of the common cabbage moth, inserting its sharp mandi- bles into their -^hells and sucking their content" The juices of little caterpillars just -iierged from the tgg, it seemed to particularly relish. Furthermore, one of its younger brothers that I had confined with it, suddenly and mysteriously disap- peared ; the mystery, however, was explained by the finding of its shrunken skin amongst those of the aphides. Also, this larva had no objection to sucking the eggs of its own species when they were WITH PEN AND CAMERA offered to it. ThiT^^ii^Tfe^T^;^ for If the Laccwing Fly's eeus were deposited on the leaf like thorofl,: moths and other insects, they luW doubtless experience the same fate Then hjs ravenous larva came upon them bm t makes no attempt to climb the smooth stalk. Its only journey along that path ■s when ,t emerges from the eg|; and iHu "Z'T'T "'^" -''tch^ through a LfJt^ ? ''"" "'°"S'' necessary task that It has to perform abJor!„,l'""'"°" ^''^- 3 ^hows that abnormal eggs are sometimes deposited by msects. The Lacewing Fly th^t de posited this double egg ^evidLtly ' los" count, or else was in a great huro'. If the ^^1m" ''V''' "'^' 'he motie insect sadly erred, for whichever larva emerged first would almost certainly insert before makmg ,ts journey along the From what I have here stated it shou.d be obvious, I think, that a leaf or stem m ao INSECT BIOGRAPHIES I 'i containing a few of these eggs, if conveyed into a greenhouse or placed amongst plants, will ultimately be the means of causing much destruction amongst the aphides and other injurious insects that the gardener well knows. In Fig. 4, several photographs are shown to illustrate how these active little larvae move about the leaves and branches capturing and devour- ing their prey. When full grown they are only about half an inch in length, but their feeding powers are most astonishing. To properly appreciate the attack of one of them upon its prey, a magnifying lens should be used, and in the photograph shown in Fig. 5 the scene is depicted as it then appears. The larva is seen on the surface of a leaf holding the aphis and sucking its juices by means of its huge, sickle-shaped jaws. How efficiently these organs are adapted for that work I have endeavoured to show in Fig. 6. For twelve days the larva proceeds with its destructive work amongst the aphides, mites, and other plant parasites, becoming more ravenous every day, until on the twelfth day it may, after fasting, often be il:V->^^# M - A u.ii.,.,e maanifiel phnt^sraph „f the larva .,f tlu- I .ur«i„L. ■™' Hy attacking a grfen-Hv. i-Uf «..,(, '■ Head of the larva, sh.nvi.iK its mandibles. :• I he luridiis < .noons formed bv the larva' N. The LacewinK Kly de,.,.siiing eggs on a lila, leaf. n. Another view of the I.aiewing Fly WITH PEN AND CAMERA ai seen to destroy aphides at the rate of one per minute. About the twelfth day, however, it gives up feeding and prepares for the next stage of its existence. It draws itself up in ball- like fashion, usually on the edge of a leaf, and slowly envelops itself in silk which it spins for the purpose. A few hours iater it has changed into an almost circular cocoon about the size of a sweet pea ; three cocoons are shown on bramble leaves at natural size in Fig. 7. Sixteen days later the cocoons are cut open from within, a circular lid opening at the top of each, and, like a Jack-in-the-box, the fully-developed insect emerges. It is surprising how so large an insect can develop in so small a cocoon, but, immedi- ately it appears upon the surface of the leaf, its wings begin to shake out their folds, and a few minutes later we see the insect developing in ?'l its charming hues. Its bright green body, its gauzy and iri- descent wings, and its sparkling eyes (together with its abominable characteristic of producing a most vile odour), have all been acquired in some mysterious way if aa INSECT BIOGRAPHIES during the sixteen days while it was crushed within its little cocoon upon the leaf. How the magic was performed is a secret hidden deep within the pages of Nature's book. The perfect insect is shown in Figs. 8 and 9, where it is seen to have been depositing its eggs upon a lilac leaf. Allowing seven days for the egg stage, twelve for the larval period, and sixteen for the pupa or chrysalis stage, it is seen that the whole development from the egg to the winged insect occupies about five weeks. It follows, therefore, that several broods of these insects appear during the summer months. The last brood of larvae remain in their cocoons throughout the winter, appearing early in June just as the aphides are becoming plentiful. Reaumur estimated that a single aphis may become the first parent to no fewer than 5,904,900,000 individuals during the few weeks of its life, while Prof. Huxley computed that the descendants of a single aphis, if allowed to multiply unchecked for ten generations, would then produce a bulk of organic matter equivalent in weight to WITH PEN AND CAMERA n that of five hundred millions of human beings, each of which could turn the scale at twenty stones. With these computations in mind .ve have only to think of the vast number of aphides that may infest a single branch or leaf of a plant, and to remember that each aphis possesses this same marvellous power of multiplication, to realize that the existing vegetation of the earth is always in serious danger of becoming converted into living aphides, unless some efficient agents are always employed in the work of their destruction. Conspicuous amongst the most impor- tant of these agent are the larvae of the Lacewing Flies, of which there are some fourteen or fifteen species in this country ; while in America these insects are equally abundant. The female of the species here described will deposit as many as forty eggs in the course of one night. This progeny of forty larvae feeding during the twelve days of their larval stage in a greenhouse con- taining plants infested with aphides, would, I think, prove more effectual as INS T BrOGRAPHIBS aphide destroyers than several pounds spent in fumigating devices. Also it would probably be possible to produce a second or third generation, if the green- house was large, and provided sufficient aphides for the larvae to prey upon. ir CHAPTER II THE TRANSFORMATIONS OF A SWALLOW-TAIL BUTTERFLY {Pi^iio maekacn) THE butterfly was an exquisite and marvellous creature, an aristocrat amongst British butterflies. Larger than any other of the native species, its arched and clean-cut wings terminating in the sharp tails from which it derives its popular name (Fig. lo) their bright yellow artis- tically contrasted with edgings and veinings of velvety black, relieved here and there by spots of silvery-blue and orange-red, one needed only a glance to realize that the insect came of butterfly nobility. As it rested amongst the umbelliferous flowers it exposed its delicate and handsome wings to the sun- light with an air of proud dignity, provid- ing, of course, that you did not approach it too closely ; for then it instantly soared *s INSECT BIOGRAPHIES i\' \\ 1 into the air, and the utility of its wondrous organs of flight became apparent. Its aerial movements were the more astonishing when it was espied by an amorous mate: for the butterfly was a virgin female. The headlong onrushes of her suitor were now encouraged and now avoided by almost hair-breadth dis- tances, and that she was a born coquette not a shadow of a doubt could remain. So dancing through the air on light wings, the insects curvetted here and there, she coyly inviting and then capriciously turning aside, while he followed her capricious course on untiring wings. Such picturesque butterfly frivolity may often be witnessed on sunny days in the fen districts of the eastern counties, and whenever it is seen it must always appear as a miracle; especially a miracle when one realizes the processes through which the fairy-like butterflies were evolved. It is hard to believe that these same insects, seen so gaily disporting themselves in the sunlight, were once WITH PEN AND CAMERA 27 hungry caterpillars, crawling about the stems of the wild carrot or the marsh parsley, and whose sole occupation was to gorge themselves with the green leaves of those plants. Even as caterpillars, though, they were handsome; their pale green bodies marked with black bands studded with orange spots (Plate II) gave them a striking appearance. From early June and well into July the caterpillar continues to feed, moulting its skin from time to time as the latter fills up, and then eating the cast skin before again resuming its green food. At last it has had enough, and its appetite suddenly declines. Tom that hour, throughout the n ler of its life period, it never agai.i eats green food. The caterpillar then proceeds to attach itself by r. silken thr-ad at its tail end to the stem, and also by a silken girdle just above the centre of its body. So attached to the stem, it awaits the assimilation of its final meal of greei. .caves, and, in the course of a few hours, it moults its last caterpillar skii . In this way it is transformed inlo the next stage of its \-- li INSECT BIOGRAPHIES existence, for it is then no longer a caterpillar, but has become a chrysalis, or pupa (Fig. ii). At first the chrysalis is of a bright green colour, but as the vegetation become yellowed, the pupa also assumes similar hues, probably gaining a measure of protection by this simulation of its surroundings. In very favourable seasons the butterflies may appear in August, but more often they do not emerge until the following May or June. Frail though the chrysalis is, there it remains on the reed or stem to which it is attached, subjected to all the vicissi- tudes of the winter months. Though it may be frozen and thawed many times, yet /ithin it the broken-down organic sub- stance of the caterpillar is slowly recon- structed, almost every distinguishable organ being dissolved into a greenish liquid, in readiness for the moulding of a butterfly with wings of lovely hues. Strange legs, long antennae, or feelers, a body divided into three parts, and marvellous wings clothed with innumerable scales of wondrous colours, all appear '■' Thf Sualinutail UutUril.v renting with its wuiss expanded. 11. Ihe ( hr>>ali>. li The HiitterHv just emerged fr,.m it> ehrvs. i.,. WITH PEN AND CAMERA 29 within the magic chamber of the chrysalis. More wonderful, too, are the new in- stincts developed there. The caterpillar could not reco^ise a butterfly of its own species, so different are their lives and habits. Yet the butterfly, only a few hours after its emergence, will recognise its mate on the wing, and without instruction will seek flowers from which to sip nectar by means of its long, coiled proboscis, or sucking-tongue, which it has exchanged for the biting mandibles of the erstwhile caterpillar. As soon as spring days come the work is completed, and all is in readiness waiting for Nature to give the command. Then almost instantly the chrysalis is expanded from within to its utmost limits, until the frail covering skin bursts asunder, and from it crawls a dowdy and crippled-looking butterfly (Fig. 12). It is not a pleasing insect that emerges. Its wings are dumpy, wet, and distorted. Hey presto! though. Something wonderful is happening. At almost the first step the butterfly makes, 30 INSECT BIOGRAPHIES its wings swell outwards, and lo, in a moment they have increased to double their original size (Fig. 13). Then do we realize that the wings are unfolding and expanding, and we ask ourselves how it was possible that a moment ago they were pressed into the chrysalis together with the legs and body of the butterfly, and yet thus emerge without a defect on their surface ; the process becomes an insoluble mystery to us. In a period of less than one minute, the chrysalis has burst and the butterfly has shaken the folds from its wings (Fig. 14) and greets the eye as a picture of dainty loveliness. It rests and suspends its wings in space while they dry and harden. Then this creature, of but a few sunny days, ascends to the topmost point of the branches, and there exposes to the warm sunlight (Fig. 15 and frontispiece) its exquisitely coloured wings. Flight, until then, could never have entered its head ; yet the sight of a mate overhead was sufficient to instantly fill it with the joy of life, and in a moment it was soaring on its untried I I Its winys utif.ilding and expandinjj. M- The wiiiys extt-nded and drying, i;. Asiendin,' the stem into the sHnlight WITH PBN AND CAMERA 3< wings. Soon the same mysterious instinct would guide it to deposit its eggs on those plants so dearly loved by the caterpillars of its species, and this in spite of the fact that the butterfly has no taste for, nor can it ever eat, green food. CHAPTER III THE LIFE-STORY OF THE PUSS MOTH {Dicranura vinula) THE two main factors in the struggle for existence are, neces- sarily, to eat and to avoid being eaten. The Puss Moth, in the course of its evolution, has had to resort to some most extraordinary devices to escape the latter contingency. Its colours, its habits, and its anatomy, throughout all its stages, clearly indicate that it has had to fight persistently against the attacks of for- midable foes, and that only by extreme defensive methods has it been saved from extermination. The history of this insect is, indeed, a most wonderful chapter in insect evolution. This moth may be found from May to July. It deposits its eggs on the leaves of poplar and willow trees, and after about nine days the little caterpillar it ^^SBCT BrOGRAPHIHS j^ emerges, Often taking eight or ten ho^s to bite Its way through the strong egjr- shell. When the head, which is The largest part of its anatomy, is through the rest emerges quickly. It is of a velvety black colour, and on its head are two curious, ear-like structures (Fig 16) which disappear as it gets older"; while at Its tail-end it possesses a forked appendage from which, when it is irri- tated, issue two delicate pink threads the function of which will be considered' later. The young larvre make no attempt to hide themselves, but feed boldly on the surface of the leaf (Fig. 17). And now we observe what is probably the first selective device for their protection— VIZ., their black colour, for the little holes in willow and poplar leaves bear a resemblance to black spots and markings, while bruised parts also turn black. Therefore the black larva feeding on them are not conspicuous. Later on. when they begin to develop to a conspicuous size, they moult their 3kms and change colour, gradually S4 INSECT BIOGRAPHIES becoming green, assimilating then with the leaves of the food plants ; their upper surface, however, retains a brown hue speckled with grey. In Fig. i8 two half-grown larvae are shown feeding in their characteristic attitudes. At this stage, when about a month old, a curious change takes place. The caterpillar again moults its skin, and it then appears in r^U more brilliant greens, while its dorsal parts have developed more grey colour, giving its body a shaded effect. Also two white wavy bands run from its face to the hump at the back of its head, and from there down the sides of its body to its forked tail. What strikes the observer most, however, is its face, for there a most remarkable mask has developed of a rose-red colour, shaded with greyish- blue, and bearing what look like two staring black eyes. The change after moulting the skin is so extraordinary, that one can scarcely believe it is the same caterpillar. In Fig. 19 is a photograph of three larvae at this stage, showing their masks. On lift;. _ I'). KkK' "f l'ii-> Mc.th with tlif .atiTiiillar jiiM ..im-rj.inj;— niagiiitifd JO (iiamftfr>. 17- 'I'hi- ratfrpillars. w\wn threi' clav> ,,1,1. l,a-ize. ' i i iX. Half un.wn lar\a bef,irt- they e sp„t. have appeared. .\-,»/,.-This plu>t..iirai.h will bt hitter appre. late.l if viewed upside down. ' -!o- Kill! grown raterpillars feeding. "■ ' whi'-''h".h"', '■f'"'-""'"" >-ly appr.-a.hina the .aterpillar. whi. h the latter is endeavcmring to drive "f Its inHated "face"" and its tail -whip^. away bv means IM' ^^)1 WITH PEN AND CAMERA 39 shell, and adhering firmly afterwards. The caterpillar feeds ravenously, but the appetites of its boarders increase also. Eventually the larva attains its full growth and spins its cocoon, yet it is never destined to become a moth, for the ichneumon grubs then completely devour the soft parts of their host, and attain their full growth, making their own cocoons within that formed by the cater- pillar, thus utilizing the caterpillar's home as their own. The ichneumon-fly is, therefore, a formid- able enemy that has to be dealt with promptly when it appears. Whether the caterpillar's remarkable simulation of a face has any influence on the ichneumon- fly is a doubtful point ; probably that feature is only of service in scaring larger foes, including man. Its tail whips, however, have probably been developed purely as a means of reaching the back of its head, where the ichneumon-fly usually makes its attack ; for these organs are really the caterpillar's last pair of clasper legs modified and evolved into tube-like structures and endowed with INSECT BIOGRAPHIES delicate muscles, which allow of the sudden protrusion and contraction of the pink threads. It is curious, too, that these whips should be of a colour similar to that of its mask, a fact which seems to imply that that colour may have some influence on the particular enemies which the insect has to combat. In this connec- tion, too, we have to remember that colours and forms which we may regard as merely curious or quaint may affect other animals in a very different way, and have a significance which they have not for man. Especially is this true of insects, the structure of whose eyes is so very unlike our own. We should never overlook the fact that peculiarities in an organism that appear to us useless, .d sometimes absurd, may be of great pra :.cal value to the creature possessing them. So far as is known, the tail whips are perfectly harmless to the ichneumon, and only serve to drive it away, just as a cow removes flies from its back by the switch of its tnl. Nevertheless, the parasitic ichneumon takes considerable risk in making its attack upon the caterpillar. WITH PEN AND CAMERA 41 In the lower part of the red mask is a transverse slit, connected with a gland in which a strong solution of formic acid is stored. Professor Poulton, who has made many interesting experiments with this species of caterpillar, states that this solution, in a mature larva, contains a proportion of acid "as high as forty per cent.," which is a much greater percentage than that found in the stings of nettles, wasps, hornets, bees, etc. This irritant fluid the larva is able to eject as a fine spray when it directs its '• face " towards an enemy. I would suggest that the mask may be a means of holding the attention of the enemy in the right direction to receive this shower of acid. Of the effect of this liquid, we have Professor Poulton's statement that he has "seen a marmoset and a lizard affected by it," and has himself "twice experienced sharp pain as the result of receiving a very small quantity in the eye." It follows, therefore, that the ichneu- mon fly has also a formidable foe to contend with while carrying out the Bi:« 4»- IVSBCT b!OGRAPHIBS natural functions of its species; indeed, it is a li ; .a\, death struggle between the caterpillr. u.. ' the fly, for Professor Poul- ton's e:p<^.('i ncjits revealed the fact that the ich euMoi 3 collapsed immediately when a I. <.i. etween living creatures that may be enacted unseen beneath the green leaves of a poplar or willow tree ; a warfare which has been going on throi^hout the history of this quaint caterpillar, and has brought such an in- fluence to bear upon it during its struggle for existence as to produce those extra- ordinary modifications in its anatomy which we have noticed, such as its colour simulation of its surroundings, its startling mask, its tail whips, and its poison-secreting gland. The ichneumon-fly is the natural foe of the caterpillar, and only those cater- pillars have survived that have inherited features that would best serve as weapons of defence against the attacks of this il WITH PEN AND CAMERA 43 wily enemy. On the other side, the ichneumon has concurrently developed quickness of movement to avoid the acid shower, and a daring in attack, together with such structural details as sharp claws for holding on and an ovipositor highly adapted for securely placing and fixing its eggs upon the caterpillar. Should the larva successfully reach maturity, it then prepares for the next stage of its existence. Here, again, the precautions it takes obviously point to much persecution in the past history of its species. The larva selects a suitable crevice in the bark of a tree, into which it withdraws itself. It then proceeds to spin some glutinous threads over its body, attaching them to the bark on e;tt:h sloe, afterwards gradually filling up the interstices. While doing this it bites small portions from the bark and weaves them into the substance of the cocoon. When complete and dry the caterpillar is entirely obscured from view, and as the cocoon dries it becomes identical in colour with the bark, looking simply like a rugged portion of it; also, it is then INSECT BIOGRAPHIES III ! f\\ i »! t , 'i i! 1 ! I as hard as horn. In this position the developing insect spends the winter. This mimicry of the bark, combined with so much strength, distinctly indi- cates that the caterpillar has found it necessary to hide itself from the eyes of its enemies, and even then to put on armour. But notwithstanding all this self- protective care, cocoons may frequently be found torn open and empty, for hungry tits know well how to seek out such choice morsels as the cocoons contain. Just what is inside is shown in Figs. 22 and 23. Also the photographs show how strong and well-made is the cocoon. The chrysalis is produced when the cater- pillar moults its last skin within the cocoon. The thinnest portion of the cocoon is that part where the future moth will emerge the following summer. In Plate III. two cocoons are shown in their natural position, from one of which the moth there seen has just emerged, the cocoon then being broken open to reveal the empty chrysalis skin left behind. In the ordinary way the moth makes its appearance from quite a small round !i Ei - WW 22 23 12. Ccxoon removed from the bark of a poplar tree. 2j. Interna! \ic\v of the (tKf.on. showing the ihry>ali- 24. Puss Moth resting on the bark. WITH PEN AND CAMERA 45 hole near the top of the cocoon, the chrysalis being provided with a kind of cutting tool for breaking a way through the weak part. When the moth emerges from the chrysalis it secretes a fluid, which moistens and softens that part of the cocoon to be broken open, and by this means it is enabled to make its way out on to the bark, where its wings develop. Shortly afterwards the moth appears as shown to the right in Plate III. and in Fig. 24. Its hairy body and legs, and the peculiar softness of its greyish-white w'ngs streaked with black, give it a handsome appearance as it rests upon the bark until nightf?.ll, when it will take to its wings and find a mate. The meaning of the wavy markings upon its wings is a problem that remains to be solved. These, doubtless, have some significance amidst its surround- ings, and although the moth is conspic- uous to us as it appears upon the bark, it may not be so to the enemies that attack it at this stage of its development. On the other hand, it may be more con- 1^ I j INSECT BIOGRAPHIBS spicuous to them than it is to us, and its bold display may be a warning to birds and other insectivorous foes that it has now become unpleasant to the taste ; for there are many British moths of a white and greyish colour streaked with black and brown, that rest with exposed wings upon the dark-coloured bark of trees. The moth is found in most parts of the British Isles, and this feature shows how far the extraordinary developments in its caterpillar stage have proved success- ful ; for it does not follow that a highly evolved insect is necessarily successful in the struggle for existence. Such developments only show how keen has been its struggle, and to what devices it has been driven to hold a place for itself —sometimes a place that it may be hourly losing. iil CHAPTER IV THE "DEATH WATCH" BEETLE {Anobium domesticum) " T^HE patient, after suffering long, had J- fallen into a deep sleep ; and the nurse, in the still hours of the night, was, with anxious forebodings, critically watch- ing her charge. Intently she listened to his weak and irregular breathing, and, while she listened, a weird ticking com- menced. Five gentle but distinct taps— a pause— five more taps, but this time from a different direction ; then a dead silence. The old and superstitious nurse hopelessly raised her hands and shook her head. All now was of no avail. It was a ' warning * I She had heard the ' death watch.' " Two hours later the patient died." Such a passage as this was common enough in the pages of novels not very many years ago. 47 48 INSECT BIOGRAPHIES In earlier days the "death watch" was heard much more frequently than now; indeed, was quite a popular terror amongst the superstitious and ignorant, who be- lieved in "omens," "warnings," and such presages of future events. However, like most of the superstitious fancies of by- gone days, this supposed prophetic and mysterious "augury," when investigated with ordinary scientific methods of observation, proves to be entirely fallacious and a delusion. The " death watch " that produces the weird tickings formerly so much feared is nothing more or less than a mischievous and destructive little beetle madly in love and very desirous of finding its mate. Thus is the fallacy of our ancestors regard- ing this mystery dispelled. Let us review the circumstances more closely and endeavour to see how this erroneous idea came to have such a hold. The Death Watch Beetle (Fig. 25) is a \yorker in wood. Nearly the whole of its life is spent hidden amidst the woodwo* '. of old houses, or old furniture. There arc few houses, indeed, but contain some WITH PEN AND CAMERA 49 articles upon which the ravages of this n ost destructive insect may be observed ; such articles are spoken of as being "worm-eaten." Neatly - drilled, round holes, irregularly scattered over some wooden article, giving it the appearance of having been riddled by fine shot, are the outward and visible signs that Anobium domesticum, or the Death Watch Beetle, is an Inmate of our home, and warn us that, under favourable conditions, its " death-watch " tickings may be heard. It is obvious that in old houses, where wooden rafters and panels are much in evidence, these mischievous insects would be more abundant than in modern build- ings ; hence the frequency of such " visita- tions" in olden times. Furthermore, superstitious minds are far more prone to explain all mysterious occurrences as super- natural "omens," or "warnings," than to seek for a natural cause, and so simple an explanation as a tiny beetle being the source of the weird tickings, would be regarded as absurd, especially as the beetles are scarcely ever seen away from their burrows amidst the wood. 4 INSECT BIOGRAPHIES I It may be that the tickings emanated from the very chair on which the nurse attending a sick patient was sitting, or even from the wooden bedstead on which her charge was resting. In Fig. 26 is shown another source from which it may have originated. The illustration shows part of the edge of an old gilt picture- frame seen from behind, with its signifi- cant perforations. A picture bearing such a frame might hang above the patient's head, and then, in the stillness of the sick chamber, the mysterious tappings would be distinctly heard. Near the centre of Fig. 27 one of the beetles is shown natural size, and one may naturally ask how so small an insect can tap sufficiently loud to be heard by human ears. As already explained, the ticking is most often heard at night and in a sick room, because then, owing to the quietude and suspense, a slight noise is greatly in- tensified. A glance at Figs. 27 and 28 will throw more light on this point. The photographs show a common wooden gas-bracket block of four inches diameter. The front, it will be observed. •i^ The "Death-watrh" Heell. -maanified indismf-tfr- ^" '' wLuV"'' ^''^*'*' "^ " '"""''*' '"""■ "•"" '^'■'l •>>• 'he -Death. •"'• -^ "■""^''" f-fittin,' bU«k clestroyed bv the -I >eath-wat. h" . -. ~';'"" ^''"'" '^ "*"'"■" '"■'"■ ""' ' '•"•r^ «> "atural ..ze ■>.^. 1 he front „f the -ame blu, k ,howin>! the >h„t.like perfnrations mTH PEN AND CAMERA 51 I ■i « 4 I bears the familiar shot-like perforations, and the sides have completely crumbled away as yellow dust or powder in the process of removing it from the wall to which It was attached. On the back (Fig. ay) the wood is seen to be penetrated m all directions by the burrowings of the larvae of the beetles ; for it is in their early stages, as larvae, while feeding on the wood, that they carry on their destructive work. It is obvious, then, that the beetles in the block would be surrounded by more or less hollow tunnels, and that these would tend to increase the sound of their tappings as they communicate with each other. In Fig. 25 one of these beetles is shown magnified twenty diameters. It should be observed that the thorax, or portion of the body next the head, has developed in a curious fashion, forming a kind of horny hood which covers the beetle's head. In making its tappings the beetle raises itself on its fore-legs, tucks in Its head, and then brings down this horny and helmet-like thorax in contact with the wood. Thus results that regular $a INSBCT BIOGRAPHIES interval between the beats which has given rise to the expression "death watch." The hollowed and cowl-like thorax may also serve to increase the sound that it makes. In this manner the insect is enabled to call to its mate, ana often, after its four or five taps, responding taps may be heard from a different direction; and as the communications sometimes go on at in- tervals until the couple have met, it is not surprising that a superstitious nurse, sitting alone in a sick chamber and hear- ing these weird noises th£.t arise without apparent cause and come from all direc- tions, should be scared. The ultimate death of the patient is, under such circum- stances, of course, offered as culminating evidence which there can be no disputing. I have previously stated that these insects are but rarely seen away from their borings amidst the wood. However, when the wood in which they have developed shows signs of having exhausted its re- sources for providing food material and shelter for the rearing of the young, the old beetles make their way out, taking to mTH PEN AND CAMERA 53 their wings at night, to seek more favour- able quarters ; but they quickly disappear from view, as they are essentially of nocturnal habits and prefer darkness to light. It is, nevertheless, an easy matter to see them if an infested article of furniture can be obtained. All that need be done is to select a part of the wood where the holes are not too numerous, and then to drop a little turpentine into a few of the holes here and there. As the spirit finds its way into the borings and is absorbed by the dry wood, the beetles will be seen making their way out into the open through the holes down which no turpentine has been poured. A complete immersion in tur- pentine will kill them in the borings; although paraffin would prove more effectual for this purpose. It is also interesting to observe that the moment the beetles are touched they imme- diately feign death, drawing their legs together and lying on their backs, or in any position they may be, and remaining per- fectly motionless, often for five minutes or more. This is a defensive feature which ff ( _ in 54 INSECT BIOGRAPHIES they share with many other classes of in- sects and some familiar species of spiders. Probably at first this action would be due to paralysis of the limbs produced by fright, but as it served to protect them from the further attacks of their enemies the movement would become exaggerated and evolve into a defensive habit. There are several species belonging to this genus of destructive beetles that prey w^&^ household furniture, and also some nearly related lunds with similar habits, but ^e species here considered is probably ^at most commonly met with. In view of the fact that even the smallest of living things has its place aad function in the natural world, the question may be asked : What good purpose can these household pests serve to justify the'r existence. In the home of man, where they destroy beams, floors, tables, chairs, cupboards, etc., they, of course, cannot serve any good purpose. Nevertheless, their action even when engaged on such destructive work has its place in Nature's economy. As Darwin has so vividly shown, long before man us:;ed the plough, the earth was WITH PEN AND CAMERA 55 regularly ploughed by earthworms, the whole soil of this country having to pass and repass through the bodies of these lowly-organised creatures every few years. A similar work is also carried on by the termites, or the so-called white ants, in Africa and other places where earth worms are not prolific; fallen trees and broken and decaying branches are quickly reduced to dust with the soil excavated from the " ants' " underground galleries ; thus they serve as natural scavengers and fertilizers of the soil. Likewise with submerged and decaying timber, the mollusc known as the shipwormeats its way through and through such woodwork until it has become once more converted into organic material. So it is with the Death Watch beetle. Our chairs, tables, and furniture are nothing more than dead and decaying organic material ; material, too, that is ever needed in the organic laboratory for the re-modelling of other life forms. Nature is the theatre of incessant change, and the existence of dead and decaying matter is strictly prohibited in natural economy. Although we may for a time 56 INSECT BIOGRAPHIES bar the doors against the entrance of natural scavengers, yet it is but for the moment ; immediately the doors are opened they will reappear. I CHAPTER V TREE-WASPS AND GROUND-WASPS ( Vespa britannica and V. vulgaris) pARLY in September wasps were so -■— ' abundant that they became a veri- table plague. In the house they appeared to be everywhere. In the kitchen area, when cooking was in progress, they became positively dangerous. Everything sweet or tasty that was placed upon the table was immediately surrounded and attacked even a cloth that savoured of gravy or fruit juice, if laid down for a few moments became a source of danger and the hand that next touched it risked a painful sting. Some few particularly enterprising indi- viduals that escaped the eye of the cook have, indeed, quite recently reappeared amongst certain choice preserves, and although all danger from their stings was past, yet they seemed just as potent to cause a scare as if they were alive. did 58 INSECT BIOGRAPHIES ^!» Later on, at the end of the month, only an occasional wasp caused annoyance, even in the kitchen. In early October a few still found their way into the house, but these behaved very diflferently from the early September ones. They seemed to have no hostile intentions regarding the cook or even her commodities ; their object in life appeared confined to ?i careful scrutiny of the window frames, the open- ings where the sash-ropes worked being especially attractive to them. Also the folds in the curtains round the windows offered a further attraction for these October wasps ; so pleased were they with these quarters that they would often stay there for days together — until, indeed, there came a cry of " Another wasp I " after which their career was brief At the end of October wasps had become almost entirely forgotten, when (doubtless in a moment of inspiration) the cook, obsessed by the wasp topic, suddenly propounded the question : " Where have all the wasps gone?" For a time there was silence. Then the suggestion came that the cold had killed them all. Every- WITH PEN AND CAMERA 59 one seemed satisfied with this answer until the cook (who only on very rare occasions thinks with a scientific mind) further re- marked : " If that is so, where do the first wasps of summer come from ? " That question presented a stumbling block, and the discussion consequently became con- fused and was left in a very hazy and unsatisfactory state. Around the two questions propounded by the cook there hangs a tale— a story wonderful and marvellous, though its interest centres on facts and not on fiction. The October wasp that hides in the curtain in a warm room is one of the marvels of creation. It is a queen wasp. Queen in name only, for there is probably no animal on the earth that works harder or is able to perform so many and such varied kinds of labour, and withal carry on her work with such devoted energy. In the early stages of the wasp city there are only two kinds of individuals. There is first the queen, which is the only perfect female of the community. Then appear the numerous workers, or neuters, 6o INSBCT BWGRAPHIBS which are really imperfect or undeveloped females. At a much later stage other queens appear, and finally the males or drones. In Fig. 29 the three classes of individuals are shown. The males may be distinguished by their slim bodies and their longer antennz, or feelers ; the queens by their large size ; and the workers are the smaller active wasps seen everywhere during the summer and autumn months. It is rare that the original queen is seen after the worker wasps appear ; her duties then confine her within the walls of the city of which she was the foundress. How comes it, though, that the late wasp must always be a queen ? Why may it not be a worker, or even a drone ? Well, the so-called *• nest " of wasps— which is really a wasp city with several thousand inhabitants — is only a very frail structure ; indeed, it is built 0! paper. In the process of manufacture the pulp from which the wasp-paper is made has to be moistened and kneaded, and, as the numerous workers employed are continually adding their con- tributions, the combs hang heavy. Conse- quently, their growth is necessarily limited, "' ' mM,!!"" '" "' " "^P^-'n '!"• <"P row are the male,, in iK- worker..'""' ' '^"'''"^ ' ' ^^"'^'''^- =""' '"«'■■"...,, .lu- ?». The (.)n,-,„ Wasp tearing utt fibre- .,1 w,,n,l. M A nest ,,1 ihe Tiee wasp with two entrames. i-'. Sei tiim iif ne-( ..f t rt-i- vvivi h i :.> it c - 1 iitt ^i.iS|i, ~n.-,\iii;; Ifie nr>t , ,,1111). f .4 WITH PEN AND CAMERA 6i Since the safety of the structure has also to be considered. Hence it follows that, the more the wasp city thrives, the greater the vitality of the swarm, and the larger Its combs become, so the end and destruction of the fabric are hastened. Just as the community has reached the zenith of its glory and is most flourishing some strange things happen within the city, and afterwards everything seems to go wrong, and the end speedily comes. The diligent and persistent workers seem all at once to realize that more work on their part is useless, and then to lose heart and purpose in life. Some of them simply cling to the cells on which they have laboured so long, and there starve. Others (probably the younger ones) wander away from their home to return no more. Guided by their keen sense of smell, many of these discover the nearest warm kitchen where savoury foods are being prepared, and there they become freebooters and give themselves over to orgy ; for now they have no longer need to carry food to the nursery for the developing grubs. They appear to be ravenously hungry and attack MKiocorv msounioN tbt chart (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART Ho. 7) I >IPPLIED IM/QE Inc 16S] East Moin StrMt Rochcsttr, N«« York U609 USA (716) 482 - OMO - Phon. (718) 288 -5989 -Fa. 62 INSECT BIOGRAPHIES almost every kind of sweet or meat food that appears, although their habit of pouncing upon flies and carrying them off is no longer indulged in. Their orgy, however it may revive their spirits, does them but little good, even though they may escape from the kitchen — for their hour has come. As night ap- proaches cold, or perhaps frost, overtakes them ; for their home is no longer a home for them. So they rest beneath a leaf or in some similar situation and there become chilled and numbed. Next day the warm sun may revive them for an hour or two, but later on it comes cold again, and so they may linger on for a day or two, ill-tempered and always ready to sting at the slightest provocation, until at last an extra chill spells their doom. Such is the normal end of the worker or neuter wasp, after its several weeks of laborious life. The lordly and lazy male wasps fare much the same, although they succumb to cold and wet much more readily than the hardy little workers. Probably, too, the exhausted queen meets the F-'me end. I WITH PEN AND CAMERA 63 have, however, previously stated that young queens are produced later in the year. This event occurs when the fabric of the city has reached such proportions as impose a limit to any further expansions, having regard to the safety of so fragile a building in a precarious and uncertain climate. It may be climatic warnings that first awaken the workers to the fact that the edifice on which they have laboured is becoming unstable. How the young queens come into being is difficult to understand. All through the early part of the season the eggs de- posited in the cells by the queen produce the grubs of common workers, but almost as soon as chilly nights make themselves felt some special large cells begin to appear (some of these may be seen in centre of Fig. 36 and also in the lowest tier of Plate IV.), and from these develop the queens of future colonies. Whether the queen deposits a different kind of Qgg, or whether the difference is brought about by special feeding of the grubs by the workers, is a debatable question. Almost contemporary with ^he advent 64 INSECT BIOGRAPHIES of these queens, other special cells begin to produce males. When, in this v/ay, the sexes have appeared, those strange happenings to which I have previously referred then take place. Suddenly all the machinery of the city stops, as it were. The builders of the cells give up work ; the busy workers that return laden with material to build new cells, or with food for the develop- ing grubs, seem to become stupefied anri inactive. Even those wasps that remain active seemed to lose all their orderly movement and to be continually in the way of each other; in fact, con- fusion has taken the. place of orderliness throughout the whole city. Amongst the combs, around which the stupefied worker-wasps are continually con- gregating, numerous slim-bodied wasps suddenly become extremely busy. These are conspicuous on account of their long antennae, or feelers, which are continually quivering in a very excited manner. They are the prospective bridegrooms for the young queens. From careful observation, I am inclined to think that i?Q!^' 'AV/ ;. **.- M^^'- ■j^« " ^'"^ Uf.v. p WITH PEN AND CAMERA s would probably be injurious to the pupae that remained. That, I think, is the true explanation of the apparently wonderful forethought on the part of the worker-wasps. When the work of removing the grubs from the cells \ finished the worker-wasps then forsake their home, or a few may idle about its vicinity until cold or wet overtakes them. A few late queens or males may afterwards develop in the nest, but they quickly leave it ; and then, while the structure holds together, it becomes a prey to all sorts of animals — snails, slugs, earwigs, flies, beetleii, woodlice "tc By that time, the mating of the q ens has taken place, and, like the ivorkers, the male wasps have also perched. Out of all the inhabitants «^* the wrecked city none now remain except the young queens. These are the only individuals destined to live over the winter. Not all of them, by any means, will survive to becom- the mothers of a vast generation in the future ; nevertheless, a few will maintain the race. WITH PEN AND CAMBRA 69 In the ordi' v^ way the fortunate queen will sheKer in 5ome crevice in a stone wall, under the bark of a tree, or, not infrequently, in the fittings of a window frame, to which I have previously referred. If left undisturbed, the folds of a curtain in a not too warm room provide a favourite spot; but as I have already hinted, that selection is positively danger- ous for the wasp community. In some such situations then, clinging firmly by her legs, and often holding by her strong jaws, the queen sleeps away the winter months. Some bright day at the end of April the dormant queen awakes and crawls sleepily out into the sunlight. Her first thought is her toilet. Her wings, body, antennai and face are briskly brushed by means of her bristly legs; and then, havmg removed all dust and dirt from her limbs, she takes to her wings. She has not travelled far, perhaps, before shr alights and carefully investigates an old tree stump; but she is soon off again. Then the corner of the roof of a thatched cottage oc upies her attention for a few 70 INSECT BIOGRAPHIES minutes, and afterwards a hawthorn and holly hedge. In the latter place she was occupied for the rest of that day and for many days that follow. In short, this queen had discovered a suitable site on which to commence operations for the building of a new wasp city. Afterwards, you can almost always find her round that particular part of the hedge. It is her custom, however, to make little flying journeys between the hedge and a dry tree-stump in the field close by. From this stump, by means of her strong jaws, she will tear off fibres of the wood (Fig. 30) and then carry them back to her building site amongst the holly leaves. After masti- cating the fibres into a pulp she will then plaster it to a branch, and so she continues until a short suspended pillar is formed. More pulp is then applied to this footstalk (or rather headstalk, for the wasp, unlike man, commences to build the uppermost story of her house first), in the form of a little cap, and under this four small cells, with their mouths opening downwards, are placed. ^' ^^ -^ ^^^^' -/\- ^^ w.^ • .">>^:\A WITH PEN AND CAMERA 71 these also being formed of the same material. Such is the beginning of the nest, and immediately the four cells are formed eggs are deposited in them. Outside these cells others are soon added, and, by the addi- tion of new layers of paper, the cap-like covering is extended to cover these, and to fall below, the edges of the covering layers then being joined beneath, so that the comb is completely hidden from view, a single round opening being left as entrance to the nest (Fig. 31). In Fig. 32 an example of a nest at this stage is shown in section, where the first comb will be seen suspended inside. The eggs that were first deposited then begin to hatch out their grubs, and these have to be fed on chopped insects and vegetable food. So the wasp-mother's labours increase, but still she perseveres and keeps pace with the work. As the larvae grow, she has to increase the height of the walls of their cells to accommodate them. At last, however, those larvae that hatched first become full-fed and proceed themselves to spin a silken cocoon within 72 INSECT BIOGRAPHIES the cell, closing the latter with a cap of the same material, and in which they change into pupae (Fig. 33). Ten days later, or thereabouts, from these cells emerge the first worker-wasps. The wasp city then grows apace, new workers continually emerging — Figs. 34 and 35. These worker-wasps are soon ready and willing assistants of their mother, and are just as capable as she in paper-making and in the building of cells. Later on, the time of the queen mother is entirely occupied in depositing eggs in the cells n^ade by the workers. The latter not only extend the cells and walls of the city, but also collect food for the young, tending and feeding them with motherly instinct. Sometimes, too, in the case of the loss of the queen, they will also deposit eggs ; but these only produce male brood, and, consequently, without the queen the swarm eventually fails, and the nest is deserted. Tn due course, the workers suspend a second comb, or terrace, by short pillars from the first one, and finally several others, each being attached to the one immediately 'I Nest of Tree-wasp with outer covering removed. be seen in sjiue 'f the l(jwer rells. The above ne^t viewed from beneath. Kgijs tan M.. ^». 1 WITH PEN AND CAMERA 73 above it; and so the nest increases in size until it becomes externally like that shown in Plate V, and internally as seen in Figs. 36 and 37. It will be observed that the larvae in the cells are suspended upside down, and that the worker-wasps tend them in that position, as shown in Plate IV. Everything in waspland is topsy-turvy, from the very moment when the queen commences to build her home until its dissolution after the advent of the males and the young queens. Such is the method adopted in building the several species of British tree-wasps and ground-wasps. The common wasp, so familiar in summer-time, in its nest beneath the ground (Fig. 38), often extends its combs to much larger dimensions than the tree-wasps. In Fig. 39 a comb is shown containing over 4,000 cells, and this comb was the largest of ten. In this nest there would be, at the lowest estimate, 20,000 cells, and it should be remembered that the worker-cells are sometimes used two and three times over for the rearing ot larvae. With these facts in mind one may readily understand why fruit-growers i 4 74 INSECT BIOGRAPHIES advocate the killing of the queen wasps that may be seen at any time from October to May, for each one that lives may be- come the parent of a vast community by the autumn. To distinguish between the six different kinds of British social wasps requires an expert; the nests of the several species, however, differ somewhat in their external covering. Three species are illustrated in Fig. 29, the central one of which is the common ground-wasp, and the rows on the right and left are two of the commonest species of tree-wasps. In Fig. 40 is shown a sample of the paper manufactured by each of these three species. The texture of each is seen to differ, but in all appear the tiny bands of varying colours showing where additional material was added by the numerous workers. In the central example of the common wasp the paper is seen to be formed in shell-Hke patches, while the tree-wasps make theirs in more or less continuous bands. In concluding this brief outline of wasp life, I may add that, from what has been written here, it will be obvious that the ^^ ^^^■■^^1 ■■ "t^B n 1^^ ^ m ^B^^3- I . rt " j' !?r f?^ CjiH Jt ^y,''-. 1 < 1 4 V <. . -■ - 4 i i 1 •* ^ 1 '.• » ^^ ^ ^ - •10 .>>t of (iiiiimuii \\ a-p beiU'rtth the gnuirKi. walU briikeii ci|)eii )!)■ A tomb friiin the iit-^t of the I' ith 4,UCHI I t lU II^ onimon \\a~|). rontainini; ize \\\A\ be appreiiate'l by ob~er\ iiiK the po>tage stamp placed in it- lentre, whii h ha> been retimed proportiiiiiately in photojiraphinK. 40 Three -ample- of W a-ppaper. WITH PEN AND CAHBRA n discovery of a wasp in winter is nothing unusual, because such a wasp will be an hibernating queen. Also, though one's sympathy may lean towards the visps in the hour when the wonderful fabnc of the queen and her labourers «es doomed to be wrecked, yet we i «k: 'Vhat if it were not so ? Wh* 4 th« workers lived through the wm. and commenced their work early in spf-^f to- gether with their guiding queen other? What, indeed! By autumn there woufld be a plague upon the land, aiwl waj. would be reigning supreme. % i CHAPTER VI THE LIFE-STORY OF A HOVER-FLY (Caiadotnda pyrattri) WE have already seen in the case of the Lacewing Fly that not all the insects we find in the garden must be regarded as enemies. To distinguish be- tween our insect friends and foes, how- ever, is not an easy task. The average gardener kills indiscriminately when insects cross his path, especially i*" they happen to assume a grub-like form. .Never- theless, a little time devoted to discrimina- tion between them, would be time well spent, for his wholesale killinf^ often results in the destruction oi his greatest friends ; indeed, he often kills much better killers than himself. My friend the Ilover-fly has perfectly protected my sweet-peas from the ravages of the " green-flies " or " blight " during the iNSBCT BIOGRAPHIES n past summer, for like the Laccwing Fly, its mission in life is to deal death and destruction amongst the aphides, and con- sequently it is an insect which everyone who owns a garden ought to know. Although at first the green-flies existed in more than usual abundance, and their attacks were evei. more persistent than ever, yet this particular species of Hover- fly, together with its near relatives, acted so promptly, and supervized things so thoroughly, that, later on, I could scarcely find a single green-fly. It happened like this. By the side of my sweet-peas there was a bed of mint which quickly produced its flowers. Now of all things in the garden on which Hover-flies love to feast, probably mint flowers stand first. So these black-and- pale-yel low-banded flies came in large numbers to the banquet, poising them- selves above the flowers in their charac- teristic manner, held there by the rapid vibrations of their wings, and then sud- denly swooping down in hawk-like fashion to feast as opportunity occurred. There was merry-making and love- 78 INSECT BIOGRAPHIES making amongst them during every hour of sunlight ; in due course, too, there was marriage, and also families. It was then that my sweet-peas had become badly attacked with the " green blight," which, like the Hover-flies, were thriving apace during the hot weather. It was then, too, that some of the female Hover-flies became deeply interested in my sweet- peas. Day after day they were hovering before the flowers and leaves, alighting upon them and carefully searching them over. The moment they met with a green-fly, they would deposit one of their eggs near to it, and then fly to another flower or leaf for the same purpose. Now, as everyone who has tried to cultivate plants will know well, green-flies possess extraordinary powers of reproduc- tion. A single green-fly will bud out twenty or more young in one day, and these are all females, which quickly develop to maturity, and are at once able to produce young in the same manner as their parent, and which are again all females. Also, this budding process of WITH PEN AND CAMERA 79 reproduction continues for twenty or more generations during the summer months without any males appearing. Males are eventually forthcoming in the late autumn broods, and after their appearance eggs are produced instead of living young. When winter has passed, these eggs pro- vide the first brood of budding females. It is obvious, then, that every "green- fly " seen during the spring and summer months can become a mother, and I have previously referred to Reaumur's estimate, that a single green-fly may be progenitor to no fewer than 5,904,900,000 individuals during the two or three weeks of its life. The mother Hover-fly seems fully ac- quainted with this state of things, for the moment that she detects a green-f.y on a leaf or stem, she is content to place an tgg there; probably she is instinctively satisfied that the sight of a green-fly is a sufficient guarantee that ample provision will be forthcoming to give her off'spring a good start in life. In Fig. 41 the Qgg is shown as placed by the parent insect amongst the green- flies, and more in detail in Fig. 42. Three 8o INSECT BIOGRAPHIES days later a tiny, yellowish-white grub (Fig. 43) emerges from the egg, which when fully extended is not more than one-six- teenth of an inch in length ; but its courage and strength are as marvellous as its voracity. The grub under observation, when hatched, travelled dov/n the stem until it came to a leaf, on whose surf^^je it met with its first green-fly. One of the legs of the latter touched the grub as it moved towards it. Instantly the grub thrust its head forward, and a moment later it was standing upright on the tail-end of its body with the green-fly elevated in the air— a magnified photograph of the actual incident is shown in Fig. 44. In this attitude the little gnih held the green-fly for over an hour while ii sucked its juices, and this in spite of the fact that its victim was much larger than itself and continually struggling to escape. It then cast away the empty skin of the green-fly and rested for a while. During the first day of its existence it captured and ate two half-grown green-flies and two smaller ones; and day by day, for ten 4i- 44- Hud of sweet pea with Creen Hie> and egg of a Hover Hv sipon it, Ati enlarged view of the egg. The grub of the Hover-Hv photographed sjon after it- emergen(e from the egg-magnified. The young grub on the surfa.e of the leaf, sucking the jui.e- of its captured Clreen fly — magnified 12 diameters. WITH FEN AND CAMERA 8i days, its appetite increased in an astonish- ing manner. It grew rapidly, and by the end of the second day had become quite an expert in manipulating green-flies (Fig. 45). It is interesting to note that the grub is blind ; it finds its prey by rapidly thrusting its head here, there, and everywhere as it travels. Sooner or later its nose comes in contact with a victim, when a three- pronged fork, oi trident, at its mouth is immediately thrust into the green- s body; so it is elevated into the ai'. The method of feeding of the full-grown grub is clearly shown in Figs. 46-49. The grub is of a green colour, with a white stripe down the centre of its back, which is tinged with purple at the base. When hungry, after searching for prey, these grubs are very ravenous, consuming green- flies at the rate of more than one per minute. As they feed during the night as well as the day, the enormous amount of destruction they work amongst these garden pests is incalculable ; indeed, man's insecticides and fumigating devices ta INSECT BIOGRAPHIES scarcely count against the persistent onslaughts of these ^rubs. The grub's method of locomotion is curious. It is not provided with feet, but adheres to the leaves by means of the rough edges of the skin at the sides of its body. It, consequently, has some difficulties to overcome when on the move; nevertheless, it travels at a re- markable pace. It stretches out its head— which is little more than a tapering proboscis bearing at its apex the trident previously referred to — as far as it can reach, then grips the leaf by means of its trident and immediately draws up its hinder parts until its tail-end almost touches its nose — appearing as if it were about to turn a somersault. Just as you expect to see it perform that movement, however, its head is suddenly thrust forward again ; so it moves along in this loop-by-loop fashion. Also, it always appears to be in a big hurry, both when travelling and in making its thrusts around in search of prey. Many kinds of these grubs may be s s 4« 47 4;. The Rrub when two days old, with a C.reen-fly larger than itst-ll — luaKiiified i. diameters. 4(1. A full-grown grub spears a C.reen fly. 47. Klevating it into the air. 4N. K-Vtending it> Ixidy — see 4(1. WITH PEN AND CAMERA 83 found amongst the leaves of garden and field plants, some of which are of a whitish-yellow colour, while others are marked with pale brown. These are the larvae of the smaller species of Hover-flies, and their habits are much the same as the species here described, which may be readily identified by its green and white colouring and its larger size. At the end of the ten days* feeding period, the grub's enormous appetite declines, and it attaches itself to a leaf or stem by the trident at its mouth. There it hangs for another ten or eleven days, its skin hardening and becoming of a golden brown colour (Fig. 50). After that time has passed, this pupa or chrysalis is suddenly burst open, and we find that the voracious grub has been transformed into a shining black-and-yellow-banded Hover-fly (Figs. 51 and 52). It is obvious that the Hover-flies are amongst the gardener's most valuable allies. When we recognize the enormous rate of increase of which the green-flies are capable, together with th knowledge that, if their multiplication remamed unchecked, INSECT BIOGRAPHIES cveiy green plant or tree on the surface of the earth would soon become converted into living green-flies, and that, in consequence, the food supplies of all terrestrial animals would quickly ter- minate, we can only marvel at the efficiency of Nature's sentinels which are ever on guard and ready to strike when one organism becomes dangerous to its fellows. When the green-flies become too abundant, Hover-flies and other natural foes of the green-flies quickly appear, and the work of destruction then goes on persistently until the normal balance is again established. Many species of Hover-flies may be met with in the gardens and fields, but the species whose life history I have here described is one of the largest and commonest members of the family. Should my readers desire to encourage these insects to visit their gardens, it is only necessary to cultivate some of the old-fashioned garden flowers such as poppies, sweet-williams, thyme, mint, cornflowers, ox-eye and other daisies, etc. The parent insects visit these blooms for 4')- Sinking the juice-, nf the (".rei-n-Hy — natural size. ;<>. The I'upa or Chrysalis. ;i. The Hover Hy ju>t emerged from its ihrvsalis. ;i. Another view of the lldverth— natural si/e. « ! WITH PBN AND CAMERA «5 their nectar and pollen ; for, as previously explained, the flies themselves do not feed on green-flies. Therefore, the garden with such flowers arranged amongst its rose and fruit trees, is least likely to suffer from the attacks of the green-flies, for the Hover-flies which come in search of food will soon detect their presence and place their eggs amongst them. i if ! i. M CHAPTER VII WINTER BUTTERFLIES WHEN damp days come and icy-cold winds commence to blow, man quite naturally seeks a closer companion- ship with his fireside, or resorts to other artificial means of raising the temperature of his surroundings to comfortable con- ditions. In wild nature, however, such artificial devices for obtaining warmth are, of course, impossible. As a consequence, at the approach of frost and cold tem- peratures Nature shuts up shop, as it were ; leaves fall rapidly ; many birds and small animals disappear as if by ma^ic; while the myriad forms of insect life that were so abundant on every hand, seem, by some mysterious means, to have been suddenly and completely swept from the districts where perhaps only a few hours before they revelled in the sunlight. P INSECT BIOGRAPHIES 87 Man is so busily occupied at such times in attending to his own creature comforts that he rarely gives a thought to what is happening to the frail life-forms that appear summer after summer and whose surprising habits ever prove a source of entertainment for him during his summer and autumn rambles. For instance, there is the familiar Large White Butterfly (Plate VI) which the Londoner may some- times see even in the busy thoroughfare of the Strand ; or, indeed, in almost every spot in the British Isles, so abundant is this insect in both town and country; yet how few of those who know the insect well could tell how it spends the winter I In this chapter, therefore, I propose .o consider how winter is passed by some of the more familiar butterflies of summer- time. I would say, furthermore, that each of the butterflies illustrated here has been photographed from life, i.e., in its natural pose, just as my readers might see it in its wild state. This class of photography is beset with many difficulties, as those who have attempted it will well know. 88 INSECT BIOGRAPHIES i \ ■ I u It may interest readers of this volume to learn that, to secure some of the pictures shown here, tlie writer had often to spend four or five hours of careful watching with camera all in readiness, so rarely could the insects be caught in a pose that would show their charucte»'istic features and at the same time sufficiently at rest for a life-size photograph to be made. It is not at all surprising that the .'on-entomologist should find a difficulty in stating how the butterflies with which he is familiar pass the winter season, fc even expert entomologists cannot speak with any certainty regarding some of the most common species. The butterflies shown in Figs. 53, 54, and 56 present examples of such doubtful character. The Red Admiral is one of the com- monest and most striking of British butterflies ; its velvety, black forewings, striped boldly with scarlet and heavily spotted with white, together with its large size, readily distinguish it as it feasts amongst the autumn flowers. Likewise, the Clouded Yellow Butterfly, with its i!:: S}- The Red Admiral Hutterfly with .li.sed win.i.'^. 54. The Red Admiral expands its wings. 5S- A Ciuudtd \eilijw Hutterfly. 5(1. Small Tortniseshell Hutterfly. 57. Comma Hutterfly reding on a tree-stump with wings open. I iff vl h' U WITH PEN AND CAMERA 89 orange-coloured wings broadly edged with black (Fig. 55) is equally striking, and sometimes even more abundant, although some seasons it is quite scarce. Now, both these butterflies may abound in late autumn, but at the first signs of frost they entirely disappear. Late in the following spring both species are often seen again, but as isolated indi- viduals or, at all events, in small numbers. From liiese facts it was concluded that the butterflies hibernated for the winter and that the cold killed off" most of them. There is, however, good reasons for thinking that the butterflies seen in spring are not the same as those that showed in autumn. The spring butterflies are, most probably, immigrants from the Continent blown here by suitable winds ; and it is the offspring of these immi- grant species that develop into the larger broods seen at autumn ; but even some of these may be new arrivals. In the same manner, too, the large autumn broods at the approach of cold, drift with warm winds to more congenial climes. This theory of immigration certainly is 90 INSECT BIOGRAPHIES more plausible than that of hibernation, as it would account for the fact that the butterflies are never found hiding during winter, and also that remains of the perishes individuals of the large autumn broods are never met with. Another point which lends colour to the immi- gration theory is that the Painted Lady Butterfly (see Chapter X), which is a first cousin to the Red Admiral, has an established reputation as a notorious migrant. Furthermore, the two species are often found associating on the slopes and summits of hills. It may be said, then, of these hand- some species that they do not " spend the winter " anywhere, but evade it ; or, rather, they winter abroad. Altbough only some sixty-seven or sixty-eight butterfly species are found in the British Isles, yet they have solved the winter problem in quite a variety of ways. Though some of our most hand- some butterflies have to winter abroad, other species, more hardy in constitution, are able to survive throughout the months of frost and snow. I WITH PEN AND CAMERA 91 That such a frail creature as a butterfly, whose life activities are essentially as- sociated with warmth and sunlight, should be able to endure several months of damp and snowy weather alternating with periods of freezing temperatures, and then, at the first approach of mild weather, take to its wings as i. it had only rested in its flight awhile, seems a remarkable fact; nevertheless, this is true of several of the most familiar British butterflies. In Plate VII, and in Figs. 56, 57, and 58, some of these hibernating species are shown. The familiar Peacock Butterfly (Plate VII) is readily distinguished by its bold "eyes" (resembling those of the tail feathers of the peacock) glittering on the upper surface of its velvety brown wings as it moves amongst the thistle flowers in autumn. There is always the possi- bility that this insect may be seen flying on any day in mid-winter. Even during a walk on a snowy Christmas Day that possibility exists, for it has been observed on more than one occasion flying over snow-covered pastures. Likewise the Small Tortoiseshell (Fig. 56), 9a INSECT BIOGRAPHIES l<" one of the prettiest and perhaps the most familiar amongst all our British butter- flies that bear red and orange-coloured wings. This insect is easily recognized by its orange and red hues, together with the pale blue splashes that decorate the edges of its wings. On any mild day through- out the winter this butterfly is likely to be tempted from its hiding-place to stretch its wings with a short flight in the sunlight. Often that flight results in disaster in winter's fickle sunshine, which may dis- appear as quickly as it came, and leave the butterfly numbed and cold before it can find its hiding-place again ; nevertheless, sunshine is irresistible to this merry little insect, and of all the butterflies that hiber- nate for the winter this is the one most likely to be observed. In the spring the Tortoiseshell is always one of the earliest butterflies abroad, and it is this insect, therefore, that provides the crop of newspaper paragraphs that invariably turn up about February or early March, stating that a butterfly has been seen on the wing, attesting the " abnormal mildness of the weather." WITH PEN AND CAMBRA 93 There is, of course, in this nothing abnormal; the butterfly might have been seen in December or January for that matter. Before one can be justified in describing as "abnormal" any pheno- menon connected with insects, he should first be fully acquainted with the habits of the insects themselves ; but more on this point later. A somewhat similar insect to the Tortoiseshell is the Comma Butterfly (Fig. 57). This insect is not nearly so common as the former, and may be readily distin- guished by the edges of its wings being much more jagged, and by the absence of the blue spots at their edges. Sometimes on a winter's day this insect may be seen sailing along like a bit of tattered leaf; its cut wings, however, are perfectly natural. Now, in the case of the Peacock, the Small Tortoiseshell, and also in the Comma, while the upper sides of the wings are brilliantly coloured, the lower sides are dull and dingy. The Peacock, illustrated in Plate VII, presents a good example of this. One moment the insect is a gorgeous display of colour ; it closes INSECT BIOGRAPHIES 3] its wings, and instantly its colours are obliterated. The advantages that these hibernating species derive from this charac. istic are obvious. With wings open the insects are most conspicuous, but it would need keen eyes to distinguish them when, with wings closed, they rest against the dark roof of a barn or beneath the ledge in a hollow tree, where they have retreated for their winter sleep. The curious wavy and irregular markings of the lower wings harmonize so perfectly with the dusty thatching of the roof, or the fallen and shrivelled leaves that lodge in the crevices of the tree, that the insects become com- pletely lost amidst their surroundings. How efficient this protection is I have endeavoured to show in Plate VIII. The photograph represents two Comma butter- flies resting in their natural attitudes (for the insects were living when photographed) on a branch bearing shrivelled leaves. I wonder how many readers of this chapter would have observed these butterflies had they seen the branch amidst ordinary surroundings ? WITH PEN AND CAMERA 95 Even their pale-coloured legs and the conspicuous white comma-like marking in the centre of the lower wings have their meaning, and, as the photograph shows, aopear only like damaged parts and insect-^aten spots in the tissues of the apparent leaf. Probably, too, the con- trasting whiteness of the legs and the comma-like marking serve to momentarily distract the eye of an approaching enemy, and divert it from the general contour of the insect, but as they remain im- movable, the eye of the foraging mouse or bird is soon *urned in other directions. Thus it would neglect to give its usual close scrutiny to that particular spot. It is from the comma-like marking referred to that the butterfly derives its popular name. Then there is the Brimstone Butterfly (Fig. 58), the male of bright daffodil yellow and the female of primrose hue. This is another insect that may surprise the country rambltr any sunny day during winter. Its colours are very striking, and one naturally wonders how with such colours it can remain unseen during the period of its hibernation ; however, a I 96 INSECT BIOGRAPHIES little thought will recall to the mind that this yellow colour is found amongst many evergreens, as variegated laurels, barberries, privets, and hollies, and as such bushes would serve as good shelter, these shrubs probably offer suitable hiding- places; also the leaf-like aspect of the wings tends to suggest such a probability. About a dozen of British butterfly species select the chrysalis stage as a means of solving the winter problem. This particularly applies to the various species of White or Cabbage butterflies, so familiar throughout the summer months. The Large White (Plate VI), may be taken as an example. That insect gener- ally spends its winter under the coping of the garden wall, or between the angles of the palings and fences, fixed in a horizontal position ; although summer broods sometimes attach themselves to leaves, as shown in Fig. 59, where two chrysalids are seen held by their silken girdles to a lily-of-the-valley leaf ; in this form the insect awaits an atmosphere more congenial for its destructive work amongst the cabbages. i it '1.1 .v*<. Hrimstime Hiitterflies l(jve-making. 51). Two chrysalides of the I.arije White lUitterfly. (k). Four ( )rangetip liutterflies, showing how thev bee time inion- s|>ii nous amongst the umbels ot green and white Howers when their wings are closed, fii. f'hrysalis of the Orange-tip Hutterfly. <>2. The Speckled Wood Hutterfly— see Oj. , i WITH PEN AND CAMERA 97 In Fig. 60, some Orange-tip Butterflies are shown. These are familiar insects in May and June, and easily recognized by the mottled-green and white under- wings (shown in photograph) which are white above, the forewings being tipped and spotted with black. In the male insect the forewings bear a bright patch of orange colour at their tips, hence the popular name " orange-tip." In July the caterpillar of this butterfly gives up feed- ing and attaches itself to a stem, often that of the lady's-smock, on whose seed-pods it feeds. Then it moults its skin and changes into a chrysalis like that shown in Fig. 61. The chrysalis in shape resembles the seed-pods amongst which it is not infrequently placed, and possibly by this means it is protected from the eyes of its enemies during this longest period of its life ; for it continues in the chrysalis stage from the end of July until May of the following year. During all this time the tender chrysalis remains exposed; it is subjected to drenching rains, and becomes frozen and thawed many times, but at the end of it all the 7 INSECT BIOGRAPHIES delicate butterfly breaks from its frail protective shell and greets the sunlight. It is interesting, too, to note that at the first the chrysalis is green like the seed- pods ; later in the autumn, when the pods become browned, the chrysalis likewise assumes that colour; thus the chrysalis remains inconspicuous. The famous Swallow-tail Butterfly (see Chapter II) also remains throughout the winter in the chrysalis state ; the chrysalis is attached to the stems of the reeds in an upright position, as shown in Fig. u. This insect, however, is now only to be found in the Eastern counties in a few districts amongst the undrained fens. Drainage and cultivation seem to have driven it from many of its old haunts; it is, nevertheless, a familiar insect on the Continent. . Now it is obvious that if either the Large White butterfly, the Orange-tip, or the Swallow-tail were seen flying in February or March, that fact might then reasonably be put forward as evidence of the •• abnormal mildness of the weather," for these butterflies rarely emerge until WITH PEN AND CAMERA 99 winter is well past. Thus, as I have previously mentioned, the writers of the weather paragraphs should first look to the butterfly before offering its advent as proof of a mild season. Even then mis- takes may be made, for it sometimes happens that a caterpillar forms its chrys- alis against a greenhouse chimney or in some similar warm quarters, and so its butterfly arrives prematurely into a cold and desolate worid, only to perish quickly. However, when, in the course of a ramble early in the year, a vv butterflies of a species known to nd the winter in the chrysalis stage c/e seen, then it is a true sign of winter's retreat. The sexes necessarily must appear together, and when several butterflies are seen moving about it is at least evidence of a milder temperature. The most general method of wintering amongst British butterflies is in their caterpillar stage ; more than thirty of our sixty-odd native species so spend the winter. The Speckled Wood Butterfly (Figs. 62 anil 63), however, varies its proceedings, and is sometimes a c^erpillar i 100 INSECT BIOGRAPHIES and at other times a chrysalis (Fig. 64) during the winter period. Probably, when the autumn is mild the caterpillars con- tinue their development and complete their feeding, and thus attain the chrysalis stage before winter. When the caterpillars hibernate they are usually very small, and hide amongst the leaves low down on the ground. The familiar Small Copper Butterfly, shown in Fig 65, presents a good example. The caterpillars are like tiny green slugs (Fig 66), which conceal them- selves beneath dock-leaves ; eariy in the year they continue their feeding, and by April or May complete their development and become butterflies. The same method is adopted by most of the species of the charming little blue butterflies that flit from flower to flower and make gay the grassy roadsides at midsummer. The Chalk Hill Blue (Plate IX) is a very familiar example, being found in most of the Southern counties. The species known as the Silver-studded Blue, however, spends its winter in the egg stage. The eggs are deposited amongst 6). The Speikled \\(«,f| lUitterfly with i.|Hn wiii«s. f>4. lhrysali(le> of the Spe. kled' \V.,nd HutterHv aniMni;,t ura. blade-i. ;■ l-Jggs (pf the Sihtr Mudded Mine HutterHv— mas-nifted. •-■S. Kggsof the Uiiih llrnun Kritillary HutterHv— maK'nified. WITH PEN AND CAMERA 101 the stems of heather during July and August and remain through the winter, the young caterpillars hatching from them in April of the following year. In Fig 67, two of these eggs are shown as they appear when magnified twenty diameters, or four hundred times. There are some eight species of British butterflies that pass the winter in the ^% stage, but most of these are familiar only to entomologists ; four of them are known as Ha rstreaks, and three of them belong to the Skippers; the eighth is the more familiar Silver-studded Blue just mentioned. There is also a ninth species which seems to compromise the matter of ^%% and caterpillar stage. This is the High Brown Fritillary, which deposits its eggs in July, and although these do not hatch out their caterpillars until the following April, yet the yoimg caterpillars are per- fectly formed within the ^