The Life of an Insect: being a history of the changes of insects from the egg to the perfect being.
Science
The Life of an Insect: being a history of the changes of insects from the egg to the perfect being.
Insects
Here is a larva of a moth before us whose head is a delicate orange
colour, whose belly and feet a pale pure green, whose sides are of
primrose tint, variegated with slashes of green, and along the back
there runs a beautiful band of white, the intensity of which is most
agreeably relieved by a vein of lovely pink, which divides it in
the middle. There is another clothed in purple, green, and white;
another, the larva of the butterfly called the "Camberwell Beauty,"
is of a brilliant black, dotted with spots glowing like carbuncles
along its back; another has a coat which seems as if set with precious
stones, blazing with an intensity of colour which cannot be conveyed
by description. In a word, larvæ, on the whole, can boast as varied a
display of beautiful hues as can almost the whole array of flowers in
our gardens. In consequence of the, unfortunately, too general feeling
of loathing, to which allusion has already been made, but few persons
are in reality acquainted with their beauties. Their diminutive size
also renders them less attractive than they might otherwise prove,
since we are generally most pleased with the beauty of an object when
its size makes it so manifest to our eyes, as to render it impossible
it should escape our attention.
It is a very remarkable fact, and corresponds, to a certain extent,
with the influence of the same agent upon plants[G]--that light seems
to be in some measure necessary in order to develop the colours of the
larva. Thus it has been noticed, that those larvæ which are, by their
habits, much in darkness, dwelling, perhaps, in caves of the earth, or
immured in the heart of a piece of timber, or inhabiting a cell scooped
out of the solid rock, are, most frequently, of a uniform whitish
colour. Some experiments have shown that when these whitish larvæ have
been brought out of darkness and exposed to the sunlight, their colour
has turned to brown. Very probably this effect is due to precisely the
same kind of change as takes place when a fair-skinned European travels
into a southern clime, his face and hands becoming so brown, tanned,
and dark, as to form a ludicrous contrast to the whiteness of his
chest or arms, which are not exposed to the influence of the solar ray.
[Illustration: _Larvæ resembling Twigs._]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account