Half hours with insects . a seriesof exceedingly grace-ful undulations ; whilethe young Agriou pro-pels itself, partly atleast, by its largeterminal respiratoryleaves. How by astrange economy ofnature the dragon flylarva combines thefunctions of digestion,locomotion and respi-ration in an organwhich like a forcepump ejects a power-ful stream, and likea flash propels thecreature many timesits own length overthe bottom of itspond, we have seenabove. One important result of the metamorphosis of the 3oungmosquito into a pupa is that it is promoted from a wrigglerto a paddler, padilling being a hig
Half hours with insects . a seriesof exceedingly grace-ful undulations ; whilethe young Agriou pro-pels itself, partly atleast, by its largeterminal respiratoryleaves. How by astrange economy ofnature the dragon flylarva combines thefunctions of digestion,locomotion and respi-ration in an organwhich like a forcepump ejects a power-ful stream, and likea flash propels thecreature many timesits own length overthe bottom of itspond, we have seenabove. One important result of the metamorphosis of the 3oungmosquito into a pupa is that it is promoted from a wrigglerto a paddler, padilling being a higher mode of aquatic loco-motion. Our figure of the pupal mosquito shows in a rudeway the two beautiful, thin, rounded paddles at the end of 27. DijilMx larva; x, mass of trachere. 156 HALF HOURS WITH INSECTS. [Packard. Fig. 124. the body. By dexterous strokes, aided h}^ a graceful butrapid bending of tlie body, it seeks the surface and inspiresair through its thoracic respiratory tubes. In the same wayit descends to the bottom. The Corethra larva alters the specific gravity of its bodyduring the course of its wriggling, but as a pupa all this ischanged. It now resembles the mosquito pupa, has exter-nal thoracic respiratory tubes and well developed tracheae;it loses its air bladders and swims by means of two terminalpaddles like those of the mosquito. We now come to the water beetles and bugs, whose move-ments in the water are as gracefulas they are awkward on whole organization, bodilyand , as thoroughlyadapts them for tlie water as thatof the seal or whale for tlie sameelement. They are the Amphibiaof the insect world. Born assailors, they take to the water onbeing hatched and there remainthrough their l
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectinsects, bookyear1881
