. Insect transformations . ll, andat Compton-lJasset in Wiltshire. From their feedingin company, they strip a tree, branch after branch, * Sec of this caterpillar ;ii;J its moth in Insect-Nrcliitccture, pp. J. K. 204 INSECT TRANSFORMATIONS. scarcely leaving the fragment of a leaf, till a greatportion of it is completely bare. Some of the magni-ficent beeches in Compton Park, from this cause, ap-peared with the one-half of tlieir branches leaflessand naked, while the other half was untouched. Be-sides the beech, these caterpillars feed on the oak, thelime, the hazel, the elm, a
. Insect transformations . ll, andat Compton-lJasset in Wiltshire. From their feedingin company, they strip a tree, branch after branch, * Sec of this caterpillar ;ii;J its moth in Insect-Nrcliitccture, pp. J. K. 204 INSECT TRANSFORMATIONS. scarcely leaving the fragment of a leaf, till a greatportion of it is completely bare. Some of the magni-ficent beeches in Compton Park, from this cause, ap-peared with the one-half of tlieir branches leaflessand naked, while the other half was untouched. Be-sides the beech, these caterpillars feed on the oak, thelime, the hazel, the elm, and the willow. Whennewly hatched they may be readily discovered, fromtheir singular manner of marshalling themselves, likea file of soldiers, on a single leaf, only eating it halfthrough; and in their more advanced stage, theirgaudy stripes of yellow and black render them veryconspicuous on the branches which they have nearlystripped bare. The cuckoo feeds as greedily uponthem as they do on leaves, and may be seen early in. of the hiiff lip Ciiterpillar {Pij^aru bucephala). n, tliefull-grown catPi-pilliir. 6, the moth, c c, a line of young cater-j)illars, aJvancin^ along a leaf and devouring it half through a»they march, d, the eggs. RAVAGES OF CATERPILLARS. 205 the morning jicrchcd in the midst of their colonies,and devouring tlu-ni by dozens.* Those catcrpilhus which lecd upon fiuit-trces andhedge slirubs are still niDrc hkily to attract attention;since, when any of these are abundant, it is scarcelypossible to stir out of doors witiiout observing , in tlie suburbs of London, in the summer of1829, not only the orchards and gardens, but everyhedge, swarmed with the lackey caterpillars ( ncuslria), which are what naturalists termpohipliao;ous lecders, that is, they do not confine them-selves to a particular sort of tree, but relish a greatnumber. The hawthorn, the black thorn, and theoak, however, seem to be most to their taste; whilethey are ra
Size: 1714px × 1458px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookidinsecttransforma00inr, booksubjectinsects
