52 THE BUTTERFLY HUNTERS. 



some time. When I at last opened the box it was stuck 

 all over with tiny chrysalids. In time these chrysalids all 

 burst and little moths of different sorts came out of them. 



" Fof some kinds of caterpillars it is necessary to provide 

 earth in which they can bury themselves. I once brought 

 in two small caterpillars from the grape-vine. They were 

 shut up with some grape-vine leaves, but on opening the 

 box in a few days I found them both dead. Shortly after- 

 wards I captured three more of the same kind. These I 

 placed in a box containing about four inches of earth. 

 The next day on removing the cover of the box I found 

 the caterpillars had all disappeared. After waiting seven 

 or eight days I carefully dug up the earth. There, snugly 

 stowed away under the surface, were three neat brown 

 chrysalids. 



" You will meet with many discouragements in trying 

 these experiments, for your specimens will often die. Un- 

 less the caterpillar is just on the point of transformation 

 when captured, it must be fed, and it is sometimes im- 

 possible, when the caterpillar is of a kind whose habits 

 are not well known, to satisfy the fastidious taste of the 

 little creature. 



"The pupa state is the second period of the butterfly's 

 existence. Its duration depends much on external circum- 

 stances. If the change in the caterpillar takes place during 

 hot weather the butterfly will often appear in two or three 



