OCR Text |
Show dense tit Taslo In Inectn. The entomologists havo detected ano duly noted a singular dovolopment ol the sonso of taste in insects of the butterfly but-terfly family. Tho larvsa of butterflies and moths all oat foods which are no adapted to the wants and tastes of the perfect insect, and which, in some instances, in-stances, is positively obnoxious to tho fully dovoloped croaturo. Take, for an instance, the horrid "hog nosod caterpillar," cater-pillar," which lives on the leaves of tho prickly ash and also makes life burdensome bur-densome to the orango grower. Its parents par-ents aro Mr. and Mrs. Papilio Ores-phontes Ores-phontes of tho order Lepidoptera, family fam-ily Papilionida;, and aro tho largest and most beautiful butterflies found in the latitude of Missouri. Tho full grown Insect of this species "'ill not touch the leaves of either of tno trees mentioned above, but on them it deposits eggs, and when these hatch the substance of the leaves furnish tho proper food for the larva?. Aro we to infer from this curious curi-ous habit that tho femalo butterfly of this species remembers her early existence, exist-ence, and from that argues that prickly ash and orango leaves aro tho propei food for her young, or aro wo to say that "instinct" guides her to a propei selection of food for her progeny? Is it not a fact that wo attribute things to "instinct" because wo aro ignorant that is to say, becauso wo do not know where "instinct" leaves off and reason begins? St. Louis Ropublic. In India, declares Mr. Telang in The Forum, the man has tho better of it. In America the woman has the better. |