ended its riotous life, for its appetite almost
transforms its being into the very incarnation of gluttony, it suddenly,
as if repenting of its former life as a _bon vivant_, seeks a solitary
cell or hole where like a hermit it sits and leads apparently about as
useless an existence. But meanwhile strange processes are going on
beneath the skin; and after a few convulsive struggles the back splits
open, and out wriggles the chrysalis, a gorgeous, mummy-like form, its
body adorned with golden and silvery spots. Hence the word chrysalis
(Fig. 14, _b_), from the Greek, meaning golden, while the Latin word
_pupa_, meaning a baby or doll, is indicative of its youth. In this
state it hangs suspended to a twig or other object; while the silk worm,
and others of its kind, previous to moulting, or casting their skins,
spin a silken cocoon, which envelops and protects the chrysalis.

[Illustration: 15. Imago or adult Butterfly.]

At the given time, and after the body of the adult has fully formed
beneath the chrysalis skin, there is another moult, and the butterfly,
with baggy, wet wings, creeps out. The body dries, the skin hardens, the
wings expand, and in a few moments, sometimes an hour, the butterfly
(Fig. 15) proudly sails aloft, the glory and pride of the insect world.

We shall see in the ensuing chapters how varied are the larvae and pupae
of insects, and under what different guises insects live in their early
stages.

[Illustration: Larva, pupa, and adult of a Leaf Beetle (Galeruca).]

OUR COMMON INSECTS.

CHAPTER I.

THE HOME OF THE BEES.

The history of the Honey bee, its wonderful instincts, its elaborate
cells and complex economy, have engrossed the attention of the best
observers, even from the time of Virgil, who sang of the Ligurian bee.
The literature of the art of bee-keeping is already very extensive.
Numerous bee journals and manuals of bee-keeping testify to the
importance of this art, while able mathematicians have studied the mode
of formation of the hexagonal cells,[1] and physiologists have
investigated the intricate problems of the mode of generation and
development of the bee itself.

In discussing these difficult questions, we must rise from the study of
the simple to the complex, remembering that--

"All nature widens upward. Evermore
The simpler essence lower lies:
More complex is more perfect--owning more
Discourse, more widely wise."

and not forget to study t