Early in the month the Parsnip butterfly (Papilio Asterias) may be seen flying about, preparatory to laying its eggs for the brood of caterpillars which appear in August. At the time of the flowering of the raspberry and blackberry, the young larva of Vanessa Antiopa, one of our most abundant butterflies, may be found living socially on the leaves of the willow; while the mature larva of another much smaller butterfly, the little Copper skipper (Chrysophanus Americans), so abundant at this time, may sometimes be found on the clover. It is a short, oval, greenish worm, with very short legs. The dun-colored skippers (Hesperia) abound towards the middle of the month, darting over the flowers of the blueberry and blackberry, in sunny openings in the forests. The family of Hawk moths (Sphinges) now appear in greater abundance, hovering at twilight over flower-beds, and, during this time, deposit their eggs on the leaves of various fruit-trees. The American Tent caterpillar makes its cocoon, and assumes the pupa state. The caterpillar passes several days within the cocoon, in what may be called the semi-pupa states during which period the chrysalis skin is forming beneath the contracted and loosened larva skin. We once experimented on a larva which had just completed its cocoon, to learn how much silk it could produce. On removing its cocoon it made another of the same thickness; but on destroying this second one it spun a third but frail web, scarcely concealing its form. A minute Ichneumon parasite, allied to Platygaster, lays its eggs within those of this moth, as we once detected one under a bunch of eggs, and afterwards reared a few from the same lot of eggs. A still more minute egg-parasite (Fig. 244) we have seen ovipositing in the early spring, in the eggs of the Canker-worm. [Illustration: 244. Canker worm Egg-parasite.]