The Life-Story of InsectsCarpenter, George H. (George Herbert)
Science
The Life-Story of Insects
Carpenter, George H. (George Herbert)
Insects -- Development
Several of the insects mentioned in this survey, like the last-named
codling moth, are occasionally double-brooded. As an example of the many
Lepidoptera, which in our islands have normally two complete life-cycles
in the year, we may take the very familiar White butterflies (Pieris) of
which three species are common everywhere. The appearance of the first
brood of these butterflies on the wing in late April or May is hailed as
a sign of advanced spring-time. They pair and lay their eggs on
cabbages and other plants, and the green hairy caterpillars feed in June
and July, after which the spotted pupae may be found on fences and
walls, attached by the silken tail-pad and supported by the
waist-girdle. In August and September butterflies of the second brood
have emerged from these and are on the wing; their offspring are the
autumn caterpillars which feed in some seasons as late as November,
doing often serious damage to the late cruciferous crops before they
pupate. The pupae may be seen during the winter months, waiting for the
spring sunshine to call out the butterflies whose structures are being
formed beneath the hard cuticle.
Reviewing the small selection of life-stories of various Lepidoptera
just sketched, we notice an interesting and suggestive variety in the
wintering stage. The vanessid butterflies hibernate as imagos; the
'vapourer' winters in the egg, the magpie as a young ungrown larva, the
'tiger' as a half-size larva; the Agrotis caterpillar feeds through the
winter, growing all the time; the codling caterpillar completes its
growth in the autumn, and winters as a full-size resting larva; lastly,
the 'whites' hibernate in the pupal state. And in every case it is
noteworthy that the form or habit of the wintering stage is well adapted
for enduring cold.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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