surprised at finding ears and noses scattered, as it were, sometimes almost wantonly over the bodies of insects (in many worms the eyes are found all over the body), while in man and his allies, from the monkey down to the fish, the ears and nose invariably retain the same relative place in the head. _How Insects Grow._ When beginning our entomological studies no fact seemed more astonishing to our boyish mind than the thought that the little flies and midges were not the sons and daughters of the big ones. If every farmer and gardener knew this single fact it would be worth their while. The words _larva_ and _pupa_ will frequently occur in subsequent pages, and they should be explained. The caterpillar (Fig. 14, _a_) represents the earliest stage or babyhood of the butterfly, and it is called _larva_, from the Latin, meaning a mask, because it was thought by the ancients to mask the form of the adult butterfly. [Illustration: 14. _a_ Larva, _b_ chrysalis of a butterfly.] When the caterpillar has ended its riotous life, for its appetite almost transforms its being into the very incarnation of gluttony, it suddenly, as if repenting of its former life as a _bon vivant_, seeks a solitary cell or hole where like a hermit it sits and leads apparently about as useless an existence. But meanwhile strange processes are going on beneath the skin; and after a few convulsive struggles the back splits open, and out wriggles the chrysalis, a gorgeous, mummy-like form, its body adorned with golden and silvery spots. Hence the word chrysalis (Fig. 14, _b_), from the Greek, meaning golden, while the Latin word _pupa_, meaning a baby or doll, is indicative of its youth. In this state it hangs suspended to a twig or other object; while the silk worm, and others of its kind, previous to moulting, or casting their skins, spin a silken cocoon, which envelops and protects the chrysalis. [Illustration: 15. Imago or adult Butterfly.] At the given time, and after the body of the adult has fully formed beneath the chrysalis skin, there is another moult, and the butterfly, with baggy, wet wings, creeps out. The body dries, the skin hardens, the wings expand, and in a few moments, sometimes an hour, the butterfly (Fig. 15) proudly sails aloft, the glory and pride of the insect world. We shall see in the ensuing chapters how varied are the larvae and pupae of insects, and under what different guises insects live in their early stages. [Illustration: Larva, pupa, and adult of a Leaf Beetle (Galeruca).] OUR COMMON INSECTS. CHAPTER I. THE HOME OF THE BEES.