LEPIDOPTERA.
The order of Lepidoptera includes the butterflies and moths. Their wingsand body are covered with scales, frequently bright-colored. There areseveral stages in the life history of these insects just as there are inthe life history of other insects, but these stages are so pronouncedand the changes so remarkable in this order that it is well here for usto consider the different steps which nature takes in transforming therepulsive caterpillar into the beautiful butterfly or moth. The firststage is the egg, from which is hatched the caterpillar. Thecaterpillar, after living its life, spins its cocoon, is transformedinto the chrysalis. The chrysalis in turn eventually becomes thebutterfly.
The milkweed butterflies are large-sized butterflies; the upper surfaceof the wings is bright and reddish bordered with black, and the wholewing is veined heavily with black. The wings are spotted with white; thecaterpillar is bright yellow with black bands. This insect often appearsin large numbers in New Jersey late in the autumn. This particular oneof the milkweed butterflies is called "The Monarch"; a smaller one ofthis genus is called "The Queen."
BUTTERFLIES.]
The California long-winged butterfly. The fore wings are brownish-blackblotched with yellow; the hind wings are a dingy orange.
The Dircenna. The fore wings of this butterfly are grayish-brown withtransparent spots; the hind wings are more yellowish in color.
The Cliff Fritillary. The upper side of this butterfly is brighttawny-brown spotted with black; the hind wings have a black borderspotted with the same color as the wings. The under side of the forewings is orange. The caterpillar feeds upon the passion flower of theSouthern states. It is found from southern Virginia westward to Arizonaand California.
The Regal Fritillary. The upper side of the fore wings is a brightbrown, spotted and blotched with cream color and black; the upper sideof the hind wings is black with cream-colored spots. The caterpillar islarge, nearly two inches long; black with stripes and bands ofreddish-orange. There are six rows of spines. The caterpillar feeds onviolets and does not appear in the daytime. This is a beautifulbutterfly and is found from Maine to Nebraska, frequenting the bordersof woodlands.
The Diana. Both wings are a dark brown with wide border of dark orangespotted with brown spots. It is found in the Virginias, Carolinas,Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky.
The Silver-bordered Fritillary. This is a small butterfly ranging overmost of the northern part of the United States. The fore wings on theunder side are spotted at the margin with silver spots.
The Baltimore. Upper side black bordered with a row of red spotsfollowed by three rows of yellow spots on the fore wings and two rows onthe hind wings. It is found in colonies in swamps, in the northernparts of the United States and Canada.
The Question Sign. This butterfly is easily determined by its largesize; the wings are peculiarly shaped; it is bright brown on the upperside, spotted but edged with darker brown and pale blue. This is acommon butterfly of the Middle States and is often found in the earlyspring.
The Red Admiral. This is a common butterfly found throughout NorthAmerica. It derives its name from the red on its fore wings and the redborder on its hind wings.
The Thistle Butterfly. Wherever thistles grow may be found "The PaintedLady," and Dr. V. J. Holland in his Butterfly Books says, "This isundoubtedly the most widely distributed of well-known butterflies. It isfound in almost all regions of the earth and in many tropical lands inboth hemispheres." The food plants of the caterpillar are thistles.
The Buckeye. On both the upper and lower sides of the fore and hindwings are eye-like spots. It is a common butterfly in the South, but isoccasionally found as far North as New England. These butterflies willfight other passing butterflies.
The Painted Purple Butterfly is easily distinguished because of itsbroad white bands across both wings.
The Blue Butterflies, the Copper Butterflies and the Hair-streakedButterflies are small insects, many of which are characterized by thebright blue of the upper side of the wings; in other forms the coppercolor prevails. Hair-streaked Butterflies often have small tails ontheir horned wings.
The Sulphur Butterflies and Whites are medium-sized or smallbutterflies, white or yellow in color, having dark edgings. The commonwhite butterfly is easily classified by its pure-white color of theunder-side white wings.
The Cabbage Butterfly is a common insect familiar to all. Much goodsauerkraut material is spoiled by its ravages.
Orange Tipped Butterflies. This is a large species of prettybutterflies.
The Swallow-tail Butterflies are generally large butterflies with thehind wings tailed.
The Ajax is one of the most beautiful of the butterflies. Its wings arestreaked with brown and white, with red and blue spots near the tail onthe hind wings.
The Tiger Swallow Tail seems to be fond of the woodlands ofPennsylvania, Virginia, Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee. The commonEastern swallow-tail is bright yellow and black, and found all over theAtlantic States.
The Wood Nymphs are butterflies of moderate size with eye-like spots ontheir wings, the wings being tawny brown or gray.
We have endeavored to give our boy readers a brief description of someof the most beautiful and some of the most common butterflies of theUnited States. There are thousands more.
MOTHS.
The moths are popularly distinguished from butterflies by the beliefthat they fly at night; there are, however, numerous exceptions to thisdistinction. The antennae of butterflies are blunt; in moths they varyin form, being rarely shaped like those of the butterfly. Moths are morenumerous than butterflies, and vary as to size and color. Some mothshave been known to reach a size of six or seven inches in width andattain the most brilliant coloring of all insects.
MOTHS.]
Hawk Moth. This is a large, dull-colored, powerful moth. Thecaterpillars are smooth and striped, horned at the rear end. The Death'sHead Moth belongs to the same family, as do also the Oleander HawkMoth and the Humming-bird Hawk Moth. The last mentioned is oftenmistaken for a humming bird. Caterpillars of this family are destructiveto potato, tomato and tobacco plants. The moths of this family are knownas the Sphinx Moths. The markings on the body of the Death's Head Mothresemble a skull and crossbone--hence its name. The body is covered withhair. The fore wings are brown, the hind wings yellow, banded withblack. It makes a squeaking noise and is often found in beehives whereit is attracted by the honey.
The Egger Moths get their name from the peculiar egg-shell-like surfaceof their cocoons.
The Lima Moths are among the largest and most beautiful of our moths.The hind wings have a tail-like appendage. It is pale green in colorwith a purple band along the front of the fore wings.