The Butterflies of the British IslesSouth, Richard
Science
The Butterflies of the British Isles
South, Richard
Butterflies -- Great Britain; Butterflies -- Great Britain -- Identification; Lepidoptera -- Great Britain
In passing to the chrysalis stage the caterpillars have sometimes to
make rather more preparations than in previous skin-changing provisions.
Those of the Swallow-tail, Whites, Orange-tip, and similar kinds have to
provide a silken girdle for the waist as well as a pad for the tail.
Chrysalids that hang suspended, head downwards, such as the Vanessids,
Fritillaries, etc., are attached by the cremaster--a hooked arrangement
on the tail (Fig. 5)--to a pad of silk; others, such as the Blues and
the Coppers, appear to be held in position on a leaf, or some other
object, by means of a fine girdle of silk, or sometimes a few silken
threads spread net-like above and below them--rudiments of a cocoon in
fact. Chrysalids of the Skippers are enclosed in a more or less complete
cocoon placed within a chamber, formed of a leaf or leaves of the
food-plant, drawn together by silken cables. Some of these chrysalids
are furnished with hooks on the tail as well as with a girdle for
suspension; but others have hooks only.
As almost all the chrysalids here considered are figured in the
illustrations, it will be unnecessary to refer in detail to their great
diversity in form, but a few general remarks on the structure of a
chrysalis may be made.
[Illustration: FIG. 5.
Enlarged view of cremaster, and a hook still more enlarged.
(_After Sharp._)]
If the upper (_dorsal_) surface of a chrysalis is examined, the thorax
and the body divisions will easily be made out, while, by looking at the
sides and the under (_ventral_) surface, the various organs, such as the
wings, legs, antennæ, etc., will be found neatly laid along each side of
the "tongue," or proboscis, which latter extends down the centre. All
these are separately encased, but by reason of the shell mentioned in
the remarks on the caterpillar, they appear to be welded together. When,
however, the butterfly is ready to emerge, the shell of the chrysalis is
split along the thorax and at the lower edge of the wing-cases, and the
insect is then able to release itself from the pupal trappings. This
breaking open of the chrysalis shell is termed dehiscence (_dehisco_,
"to split open"), and the manner in which it is effected varies in
different species. The emergence of a butterfly from the chrysalis is
always an interesting operation to observe, and every one should make a
point of watching the process, so that he may obtain practical knowledge
of how the thing is done. A photograph of it will be found in the
description of the Wall Butterfly.
The Butterfly.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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