without any resting period, out sprang
the perfect insect.

Not so the dobson. It goes into its hole in the bank a larva, almost
exactly like the larva that hatched from the egg, only, of course, it is
larger. There is no hint of wings. It has no separate thorax and
abdomen. Could we see under the bank where it has crept, to undergo its
great metamorphosis, we should find, not a larva, but a strange-looking,
motionless object.

[Illustration]

Here is the picture of one. See its little wing pads. And now it has a
thorax and an abdomen.

It seems to have changed and been turned to some hard substance.

In this state it is called the _pupa_, which means doll. Is it not a
cunning insect doll? But it is not really a doll. Although so still and
apparently lifeless, yet it lives.

Some day it will burst its pupa shell and pull itself out--not a larva
now, not a pupa, but a strong-winged insect.

In its adult form, it is known as the horned corydalus.

There! I thought John was saving one for us. He had it in a box in his
pocket. Now see what a--a--what shall I say? A beauty? or a monster?
That is just as you feel about it.

It certainly is an alarming-looking insect.

This one is a male, as we can tell by the long, curved jaws that look
very dangerous; but in this instance the creature's appearance is worse
than its bite, and the real biter is the female whose jaws are smaller
but very useful in nipping tormentors or biting prey.

Now here she is--a fit mate for her formidable-looking companion.

[Illustration: MALE CORYDALUS.]

[Illustration: FEMALE CORYDALUS.]

John, you were fortunate in your hunting.

In spite of its terrifying appearance, see what wonderful wings the
corydalus has.

See! John has spread out the wings of the female.

They are indeed beautiful.

May cannot understand how those great wings came out of those little
wing pads.

When the wings were first pulled out of the wing pads they were small,
but they rapidly expanded and became thin and broad and long as the air
touched them.

You will understand that better after a while.

The corydalus differs from all the other insects we have studied, in its
metamorphosis.

It begins life far more unlike its parents than the other insects we
have been looking at, for they had the thorax and abdomen distinct from
the beginning. Instead of changing gradually and remaining active all
the time up to the final metamorphosis, our corydalus g