The order of Lepidoptera includes the butterflies and moths. Their wings and body are covered with scales, frequently bright-colored. There are several stages in the life history of these insects just as there are in the life history of other insects, but these stages are so pronounced and the changes so remarkable in this order that it is well here for us to consider the different steps which nature takes in transforming the repulsive caterpillar into the beautiful butterfly or moth. The first stage is the egg, from which is hatched the caterpillar. The caterpillar, after living its life, spins its cocoon, is transformed into the chrysalis. The chrysalis in turn eventually becomes the butterfly. The milkweed butterflies are large-sized butterflies; the upper surface of the wings is bright and reddish bordered with black, and the whole wing is veined heavily with black. The wings are spotted with white; the caterpillar is bright yellow with black bands. This insect often appears in large numbers in New Jersey late in the autumn. This particular one of the milkweed butterflies is called "The Monarch"; a smaller one of this genus is called "The Queen." [Illustration: BUTTERFLIES.] The California long-winged butterfly. The fore wings are brownish-black blotched with yellow; the hind wings are a dingy orange. The Dircenna. The fore wings of this butterfly are grayish-brown with transparent spots; the hind wings are more yellowish in color. The Cliff Fritillary. The upper side of this butterfly is bright tawny-brown spotted with black; the hind wings have a black border spotted with the same color as the wings. The under side of the fore wings is orange. The caterpillar feeds upon the passion flower of the Southern states. It is found from southern Virginia westward to Arizona and California. The Regal Fritillary. The upper side of the fore wings is a bright brown, spotted and blotched with cream color and black; the upper side of the hind wings is black with cream-colored spots. The caterpillar is large, nearly two inches long; black with stripes and bands of reddish-orange. There are six rows of spines. The caterpillar feeds on violets and does not appear in the daytime. This is a beautiful butterfly and is found from Maine to Nebraska, frequenting the borders of woodlands. The Diana. Both wings are a dark brown with wide border of dark orange spotted with brown spots. It is found in the Virginias, Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky. The Silver-bordered Fritillary. This is a small butterfly ranging over most of the northern part of the United States. The fore wings on the under side are spotted at the margin with silver spots. The Baltimore. Upper side black bordered with a row of red spots followed by three rows of yellow spots on the fore wings and two rows on the hind wings. It is found in colonies in swamps, in the northern parts of the United States and Canada.