| Show INSECT CHANGES wims WHEN we look at a young bird or quadruped we usually know what general appearance the creature will present after it has reached the adult stage of its existence the dif difference terence usually noticed between A 4 young and an adult animal is one of growth of the organs and a symmetrical Inetri cal development ot of the parts but an insect undergoes many and tar far greater changes than mere growth in size during the course of its life so strange and wonderful indeed are these changes that in each of them the insect appears as of a different kind what resemblance for instance do you see between a gaily flitting butterfly and a 4 crawling caterpillar who would ever detect at first sight a relationship between a bright colored tiger beetle and a wriggling maggot or between the living abominations so 00 common ramola in rotten meat and the lively little flies which make themselves so pleasantly at home about our houses yet in reality these widely different appearances are but separate stages of individual insects the caterpillar in time becomes a brilliant butterfly or moth the maggot develops into a beetle or a fly the stages through which most insects pass are three let us illustrate these by examining some one of our common insects say for instance the beautiful moth which may be frequently captured at night during the present season in the orchards and flower gardens of either city or country It it willbe will be well if we examine the adult insect first that all may know the particular kind of which we are speaking 4 pig fig 1 here is a fine specimen pig fig 1 which a friend of mine captured last evening as it came through an open window to enjoy the light of a lamp in his room the Thea sketch ketch here given however is smaller than the living moth the moth is sometimes called the empress of the night though that name has been applied by entomologists to a slightly different species the luna the beautiful creature measures from five to six inches from tip to tip of the wings which organs are completely covered with scales of variegated tints the wing borders are especially beautiful near the upper corner of each anterior wing is a deeply colored spot not unlike an eye or perhaps more closely comparable to a miniature imitation of a peacocks feather spot beside these markings a dull red spot with with dark edging and brilliant white centre is found near the middle of each wing but in its infancy this stately insect was entirely unlike the appearance wis we have been describing did you ever observe the large green caterpillars so common upon the leaves of trees during july august and early september I 1 refer to one of the largest and most beautiful of our common caterpillars measuring sometimes four inches or more in length and as thick as a mans middle finger pig fig 2 caterpillar of moth here is a very small sketch of oue oae captured last autumn on a aur currant shrub and preserved in alcohol until the present time it is of a delicate green tint with a number of red and yellow protuberances not unlike warts covered with short stiff hairs over its body it feeds on the leaves of trees till autumn and then prepares for a winters winter Is sleep these preparations consist in the spinning of a large silken cocoon about three inches long which is fastened to the side of a twig and within which the caterpillar coils itself up for asnag a snug slumber f tig fig 8 cocoon of moth the outer wall of this cocoon is hard and tough not unlike stout brown paper fig 3 but within is a thick lining of strong silk and inside this again is a finer mantle of silk search for these cocoons as ae autumn approaches look mostly on the branc branches bes of currant and raspberry bushes also willow and poplar twigs but remember you may find fine specimens on other plants the caterpillar however changes its form in a wonderful manner soon after enclosing itself in its silken chamber A tough dark colored shell forms around the body of the creature and if we carefully remove the cocoon layers the appearance pe arance will be something like that shown in pig fig 4 in which state it is called a chrysalis fig 4 chrysalis of ef moth with cocoon removed this then is the second stage of exi existence existent the caterpillar being the first after the little creature has hatched batched from the egg the chrysalis remains dorm dormant atit lying still and eating nothing during tile the winter months effectually protected from the cold by its many layers of fairy drapery As warm weather approaches however the little prisoner begins to stir and soon bursts open its horny shell its silken wrap pings and leathery house and escapes into the air as a fully developed noth moth every one of us may witness these changes by catching the caterpillars and preserving them in a large box and giving them plenty of leaves of the same kind as that on which they were found A little earth should be put at the bottom of the box and some dry bru brushwood the above and then to prevent me escape of the moths when they mature a piece apiece of gauze or netting should be drawn over the box the changes described in the case of the moth may be witnessed with most other insects nearly all pass through changes such as these differing however in detail for example only butterflies ter flies and moths develop caterpillars from the eggs many insects appear first as maggots and in other forms in this first stage biage the caterpillar or worm wormlike like stage the insect is called a larva the word meaning in reality a mask because in this form the insect is in a masked or disguised condition there being little or no resemblance between this state and the adult form into which it will in time develop in its sleeping state the insect is called a pupa the word meaning baby and given to the insect in this state because of a supposed resemblance between it and an infant dressed and tucked in its swaddling clothes the pupa of 4 a butterfly or moth is sometimes called a chrysalis from a word meaning bright or golden because many of them are of a brilliant hue af after ter escaping from its pupa case the flying I 1 insect is known as an imago because it is now the image or full representative of its kind j by way of further illustration here is a larva or caterpillar well known as the potato worm on account of its lavt ravenous liking for the potato plant fl fig 6 5 caterpillar of Is it not a lovely creature in color itis it is green with a number usually ee seven en or eight of light colored stripes on its ito sides running inan oblique direction and a large curved sharp thorn on ite fiala dyben full grown grow nIt it measures about three inches this caterpillar is a hue feeder und and indeed eating and growing seem to be the chief business af all al larese they grow so fast as a rule that at short intervals the skin shin becomes too sm small 11 in which case they throw it ot off as we would discard a worthless coat and another covering of more convenient dimensions soon I 1 appears many insects pass a number of such boults before they reach the pupa state the potato caterpillar or hawk moth larva buries itself in the ground when about to become as a chrysalis in this condI condition it is brown in color with a long projection bent from the head to the breast and looking not unlike a pitcher handle pig fig 6 J fig 6 chrysalis of hawk moth bloth this handle like projection is in fact the tongue case in which the proboscis odthe future moth is dove developing ve it remains buried in the ground during the winter and many of of the chrys alida may be found in spring turned up by the plow if not disturbed however the moth escapes from the case in may or june and comes to the surface as a full grown imago pig fig 7 tig fig 7 hawk moth this is 18 the common hawk moth or as some people na oo 00 e it the hum ming bird moth its proper name as recognized by entomologists is the five spotted sphinx 11 the insect may be seen on summer evenings evening s darting from flower to flower and hovering over the blossoms with a loud humming sounds sound I 1 while it inserts its long proboscis pro boscia or tongue and drains the nectar cup of the flowers here pig fig 8 is an illustration of T the eggs Jarva larva and imago of the tent ent caterpillar moth I 1 in n the caterpillar cat stage this insect has several seve times inies ruined the fruit crop in different diflo qt parts of utah the eggs are i V N ft v fig 8 tent caterpillar moth deposited in clusters around the twigs and smaller branches oi of fruit trees and are protected from injury by a waterproof water proof f covering the caterpillars are beautiful creatures in spite of their destructive nature they spin for themselves a kind of web of silk in which they rest at times and this explains the name of tent caterpillar by which they are known the moth measures ruea about an inch and a half with wings expanded in color it is reddish brown with two light colored lines passing obliquely across the front wings now let us glance at one of our common butterflies ltv fig 9 larva of butterfly figure 9 shows the larva of the lark dark colored butterfly called the Aate rias it is a pretty caterpillar usually found on carrot parsnip and celery plants it 1 is generally of a green color with a band of yellow and black on each segment or of its body if disturbed it has the power of emitting a disagreeable odor which seems to emanate from EL a pair pairoh of orange colored horns that protrude from the head when the creature is touched the Ary fig 10 is strange instead of a cocoon the caterpillar SPIUS spins little more than a loop of silk upon which it rests as if swung in a hammock while developing into a pupa the change is complete in a couple of weeks when the imago issues the butterfly itself is almost black with rows of yellow lots along the back and similar figures 8 und and IS 15 are taken from first book of nature and therein by permission copied from st fles zoology marking CIS across the wings there are also rows of blue spots fig 10 pupa of et this his beautiful insect is known amoda the boys as the black warr alor 00 P 0 the hairy larva of the salt marsh moth offers a marked contrast to the smooth skinned caterpillars before described in color it is a deep orange and black the pupa developed from this caterpillar is small and inconspicuous fig IS 13 and the imago fig 14 is strange the latter expands about two inches with a mixture of fig 12 larva of salt marsh moth white and yellow on its body aud and wings spotted with black FIR fig 13 pupa papa of salt marsh moth our well known mosquito undergoes many strange changes in the course of its life the garvue are the fig 14 salt marsh moth koth lively little creatures called wigglers wigg lere lers or wiggle tails with which stagnant pon ponds is often swarm in summer and autumn they rest in the water with their heads hanging down and breathe through tubes attached to the hind end of the body As pu poe they live at the surface of the th water in a few days says say a a noted naturalist the skin splits on the back the wi winged agid insect appears and after resting awhile on its empty skin as it floats upon the water spreads its wings and humming its war note flies away in search of a victim whom it may pierce for bloed 11 the various changes are well shown in figure 15 such are some of the strange stages occurring in the course of an insects life are they not as wonderful as any fairy tales of I 1 ox v k 0 71 fig 15 the mo mosquito male female imago pupa and nd larva 0 lous changes scientific men call these processes the metamorphoses of insects 1 the big word meaning changes let us endeavor to observe the wonders of nature for indeed they are transpiring all about us day after day and in in contemplating these miracles of being reverently think of the wisdom and might of him who made all such |
