140 THE BUTTERFLY HUNTERS. 



pecially interesting in their habits, so we will pass them 

 by and learn something about the Spinners, or Bombyces. 

 The silkworms belong to this class. The moth of the 

 variety cultivated in the United States is very insignifi- 

 cant, but the moth of the Japanese silkworm is large 

 and very beautiful. The moth you caught among those 

 bushes, Frank, was a Spinner." 



" Can that fellow make silk, teacher ? " asked Frank. 

 "If he can, I want to know all about it, only please don't 

 call him a worm, as you did the silkworms." 



Little Frank never lost sight of the fact that he was 

 the sworn enemy of worms and caterpillars. 



"That moth, Frank, does not spin silk that is made 

 use of like the silkworm. It is possible that the silk is 

 strong, but the caterpillars of our common moths do not 

 bear confinement under any system of treatment and feed- 

 ing already tested, and on this account the silk has never 

 received a fair trial. It is produced in such small quan- 

 tities by the caterpillars of most moths, that it does not 

 seem worth while to take much trouble to make the trial. 

 And you know, Frank, that the moth in the winged state 

 does not spin_jj It is. the worm or caterpillar that makes 

 the cocoon. All moths do not form cocoons. Some of 

 them go into the ground and form themselves into large, 

 shiny brown chrysalids, from which, at the proper season, 

 the moth comes forth, and makes its way to the surface 



