Page:Anna Chapin--Half a dozen boys.djvu/325

Rh “LEPIDOPTERA.

“That means moths and butterflies. It comes from two words that mean scale and  wing, because the foundation of their wings is  covered with little bits of scales that lap over  each other like shingles on a roof, and give the  color, instead of their being gray, like a fly. They are the prettiest of all the insects, and there are a great many kinds of them, but  they all go in two classes: the butterflies, that  fly in the daytime; and the moths, that come  out at night. You can tell the difference when they settle, too, for the butterflies fold up their  wings till they meet, straight up over their  backs, and the moth’s wings lie flat. Their ‘feelers,’ or antennæ, that are supposed to be  to hear with, are different, too. In the butterflies, they are largest at the end; but in the moths they are larger in the middle or next the  head, and sometimes they look just like two  little feathers.

“All these moths and butterflies live twice. First they are a worm or caterpillar, and then in the fall they spin themselves up into a silk ball.