After several days the mothcaterpillarwill pull itself outofa hole at
one end ofthe cocoon. Ifit is a butterfly, the chrysalis case will splitOpen
and a lovely butterfly will emerge.
At first the wings of themothor butterfly willappearto be foldedaround
its body, butas the body dries, the wings will open and spreadapart. As
soon as it emerges from its cocoon or chrysalis,putthe insect in the sun.
Mothandbutterfly"babies"passthroughseveral stagesofdevelopment
before they become what we recognize as amothor a butterfly. These different
stages are calledmetamorphosis.
The femalemothand butterfly lay eggs on twigs, on leaves and sometimes
in the ground. The eggs are veryhardto find. They develop first into the
worm-like animals which we callcaterpillars.
Caterpillarseatravenouslyoftheir favorite leaves and grass; ofcourse,
they become fat. Much ofwhat they eat isstoredfor useduringthe meta-
morphosisinto an adultmothor butterfly.
While themothcaterpillaris in its cocoon and the butterflycaterpillaris
in its chrysalis, they do not eat. Althoughthey seem inactiveduringthis stage,
they are turninginto adultinsects. In this final stageofdevelopmenttheir
functionis toproducemore eggs, and they die as soon as they havecompleted
this task.
Mothsareharmfulonly before they becomeadultmoths,thatis, when
they are in thecaterpillarstage. The worm-likecaterpillarof the clothesmoth,
cabbagemoth, tomato moth, cottonboll weevil and corn earmothare all
damagingto objects man needs and values.
Mostbutterflies andmothsare useful because they helppollinateflowers.HOW THE FIREFLY GLOWS
Materials: A wide-mouthedjarcontaining grass or leaves, a piece of
cheesecloth, ashortlengthofstring or an elasticband.
Follow this procedure: On a summer evening collect several fireflies.
Catchthem carefully bycuppingyourhandsover each insect. Putthem in
thejarandcover the opening with cheesecloth secured by a string orrubber
band. Afterhalfanhouror so, feel the outside of thejar.
You will observe:The insects have a bluish light thatthey can flash on
andoff. Since the light is on the undersurfaceat the tip end ofthe body,
we might call it a"taillight."
When youtouchit, thejarwillnotfeel hot, as you wouldnaturallyexpect.