. The butterfly book; a popular guide to a knowledge of the butterflies of North America. Butterflies. The Life-History and Anatomy of Butterflies. i Fig. 20.—Caterpillar of Basilarchia disippus, the viceroy, natural size (Riley). called the anal prolegs. These organs, which are necessary to the life of the caterpillar, do not reappear in the perfect insect, but are lost when the transformation from the caterpillar to the chrysalis takes place. There are various modifications of this scheme of foot-like appendages, only the larger and more highly developed forms of lepidoptera having as many p
. The butterfly book; a popular guide to a knowledge of the butterflies of North America. Butterflies. The Life-History and Anatomy of Butterflies. i Fig. 20.—Caterpillar of Basilarchia disippus, the viceroy, natural size (Riley). called the anal prolegs. These organs, which are necessary to the life of the caterpillar, do not reappear in the perfect insect, but are lost when the transformation from the caterpillar to the chrysalis takes place. There are various modifications of this scheme of foot-like appendages, only the larger and more highly developed forms of lepidoptera having as many pairs of prolegs as have been enumerated. The bodies of caterpillars are variously ornamented: many of them are quite smooth; many are provided with horny projections, spines, and eminences. The coloration of cater- pillars is as remarkable in the variety which it displays as is the ornamentation by means of the prominences of which we have just spoken. As caterpillars, for the most part, feed upon growing vegeta- tion, multitudes of them are green in color, being thus adapted to their surroundings and securing a measure of protection. Many are brown, and exactly mimic the color of the twigs and branches upon which they rest when not engaged in feeding. Not a few are very gaily colored, but in almost every case this gay coloring is found to bear some relation to the color of the objects upon which they rest. Caterpillars vary in their social habits. Some species are gregarious, and are found in colonies. These frequently build for themselves defenses, weaving webs of silk among the branches, in which they are in part protected from their enemies and also from the inclemencies of the weather. Most caterpillars are, however, solitary, and no community life is maintained by the vast majority of species. Many species have the habit of drawing together the edges of a leaf, in which way they form a covering for themselves. The caterpillars of some butter- flies are wood-boring, and
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbutterf, bookyear1904
