186 NORTH AMERICAN INSECTS. 



seen on warm sunny clays in the middle of winter, as 

 for instance the Painted Lady, (Vanessa cardui,) or the 

 Mourner's Mantle (Vanessa Antiope.) These individu- 

 als came out from their cocoons late in the fall, and 

 made their winter quarters in hollow trees. 



As the habits and mode of life of Moths and Butter- 

 flies, and even their forms and organs are quite uni- 

 form, while on the contrary those of their caterpillars 

 are very manifold and diverse, the careful observation 

 of the latter seems to offer greater satisfaction to our 

 curiosity, and I deem it important to speak more at 

 length concerning them. 



Caterpillars have two kinds of feet, viz. : three pairs 

 of horny ones under the neck, and a number of fleshy 

 ones under the remaining parts of their body. The 

 greatest part of these insects have eight pairs of feet, 

 some genera seven, others six, and others only five, or 

 even four pairs of feet. Those that have eight pairs of 

 feet walk \ery slowly and uniformly on the ground, 

 but all that have less than that number walk differ- 

 ently ; they cannot progress with their body extend- 

 ed horizontally, but when creeping forwards form an 

 arch with the middle part of the body which is desti- 

 tute of legs, by approaching their hind feet to those 

 of the thorax, and then advancing with the forepart 

 of the body in the same manner as we move the hand 

 when measuring a span with the thumb and forefin- 



