Nature biographies; the lives of some every-day butterflies; moths; grasshoppers and flies . gs which serveas doorways. They remain within the tent at night, andmuch of the time in rainy weather. New layers of silkare added to the outside of the tent as the days go by. It commonly hap-pens that the first tentIS made near the endof the branch in thefork of a small such cases the foodsupply beyond the tentis soon exhausted, andit is difficult to enlargethe shelter, becausethere are but the twobranches to build itupon. Consequently,it can only be a flattent, with little roominside. To avo
Nature biographies; the lives of some every-day butterflies; moths; grasshoppers and flies . gs which serveas doorways. They remain within the tent at night, andmuch of the time in rainy weather. New layers of silkare added to the outside of the tent as the days go by. It commonly hap-pens that the first tentIS made near the endof the branch in thefork of a small such cases the foodsupply beyond the tentis soon exhausted, andit is difficult to enlargethe shelter, becausethere are but the twobranches to build itupon. Consequently,it can only be a flattent, with little roominside. To avoid these diffi-culties the caterpillars,as they grow larger,often migrate down thelimb to a place wherethree or more branchesgo off in various directions. Here a new and morecommodious tent is built, doors being left in suitableplaces. This home now becomes the centre of a newarea of leaf destruction as the caterpillars crawl alongthe various branches to feed upon the foliage. The most critical periods in the lives of caterpillarsare the moulting periods. The insects are then sluggish 24. Fig. 29. — Young Colony of Tent Caterpillars. The American Tent Caterpillar. and unable to defend themselves by wriggle or course these tent caterpillars utilize their shelterduring these danger-ous days, so that onthe inside of a largetent you may alwaysfind the cast skins ofthe different moultsthat the larvze havepassed through. As the caterpillarsg-Q back and forthfrom shelter to foodand from food toshelter, they travelalong the same pathsday after day. Aseach crawls, it spinsthe ever-presentthread — perhapsoriginally designed toguide it back to thenest. The additionof thread to threadalong the route soondevelops a distinctwhite ribbon of silk,which marks thepathway, and servesas a foothold to themarching larvae. In trees having large colonies of cater-pillars, these silken bands along the trunks and branchesbecome very conspicuous. 25
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectinsects, bookyear1901
