. The Canadian entomologist. Insects. 76 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. coils itself up there into a sort of bail and sleeps through the long and dreary v^inter, and about the time when the birds come back and the warm days of spring begin, this bristly creature rouses itself to begin life anew. Hence it is one of the few caterpillars which present themselves to us full grown in early spring, and from its peculiar appearance can scarcely fail to attract attention. It has not to wander far for food, for, being in possession of an omnivorous appetite, it feasts on the first green thing it meets with
. The Canadian entomologist. Insects. 76 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. coils itself up there into a sort of bail and sleeps through the long and dreary v^inter, and about the time when the birds come back and the warm days of spring begin, this bristly creature rouses itself to begin life anew. Hence it is one of the few caterpillars which present themselves to us full grown in early spring, and from its peculiar appearance can scarcely fail to attract attention. It has not to wander far for food, for, being in possession of an omnivorous appetite, it feasts on the first green thing it meets with, grass, or v/eed, or early plant, and having fed but a short time, it spins its cocoon and becomes a chrysalis. The caterpillar is about an inch and a quarter long; its head and body are black, and it is thickly covered with tufts of short, stiff, bristly hairs, which are dull red along the middle of the body and black at each end. When handled it immediately coils itself into a ball and remains for some time motionless. It is very tenacious of life ; we have known the larva to be frozen in a solid lump of ice, and when thawed out move around as if nothing had happened. It sometimes occurs, although very rarely, that this larva becomes a chrysalis early in the fall, and produces the moth the Fig. same season. We have never met with an instance of this but s^ once, see Can. Ent., vol. i, p. -^ 26 ; its usual course is that which has already been partially de- scribed. Its cocoon. 14, IS spun. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Entomological Society of Canada (1863-1871); Entomological Society of Canada (1951- ); Entomological Society of Ontario. Ottawa [etc. ] : Entomological Society of Canada [etc. ]
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, booksubjectinsects, bookyear1868
