THE LARV/E AND PUPJE OF BUTTERFLIES. 266 



and tried to live up to it. By degrees intelligence dawned. They 

 began to recognise not only leaves, but caterpillars, and to hunt 

 for them. Then the contagion of their example seized the other 

 boys of the town. Droves of "wild pigs" began to come in with 

 insects of all kinds, arousing the jealousy and rage of our own tame 

 pigs. The days were spent in examining and throwing away 

 bushels of crawling things, but in this way we got some of our 

 most valuable caterpillars. 



In rearing caterpillars the main point to be kept in mind is that 

 they must have a constant supply of fresh food. If they feed on a 

 leaf which does not wither soon, the task is easy. Any box will do, 

 only it must admit light if the caterpillar is one of those kinds which 

 will not feed in the dark. We reared most of ours in cages with 



a 



frame-work of wood and gauze sides. But most leaves, especially in 

 dry weather, must be kept standing in water. In this case, the bottle 

 in which they stand must be carefully plugged with cotton, or else 

 your intelligent caterpillar will walk straight down into the water, 

 expecting to get out at the bottom, and then stay there till it drowns. 

 Many caterpillars will wander from their leaves if they possibly can, 

 and very small ones are easily lost in this way. The best remedy 

 is to keep all minute, or restless, kinds in a bottle, tightly corked. 

 Give up all old-fashioned notions about fresh air : there is enough 

 of oxygen in a 2 oz. phial to last a small caterpillar its lifetime. 

 Leaves thus corked up keep fresh for many days, which is a great 

 advantage, for caterpillars dislike being handled, and some kinds, 

 which weave a carpet of silk for their feet, suffer very much in 

 being moved from one leaf to another. The chief dangers to be 

 guarded against in a bottle are damp, dirt, and their consequence, 

 mould. One other precept—caterpillars must on no account be 

 touched when they retire to cast their skins or to change into the 

 chrysalis state. For the rest, the caterpillar fancier's motto must 

 be " Experientia does it." 



NYMPHALIM. 

 Subfamily Danain^e. 

 The larvae of this subfamily usually rest on the underside of a 

 leaf, seeking no protection, and are for the most part conspicuously 



