112 NATURE SKETCHES IN TEMPERATE AMERICA 



edge. Behind the head on the three thoracic segments is a 

 green pattern, which causes this portion to blend with the 

 color of the leaf. 



With a view to learning something further of the life history 

 of this interesting caterpillar, I took it indoors on July thirteenth. 

 It readily ate dogwood leaves supplied to it until the fourth 

 day; then it became restless, refusing to eat further. It kept 

 moving about on the wooden bottom of the vivarium, but 

 made no attempt to spin a cocoon, possibly because proper 

 facilities were not at hand. Finally, it quieted down and cast 

 off its caterpillar skin, transforming into a shiny, dark brown 

 chrysalis, which was a trifle more than three-quarters of an 

 inch in length, with a pair of barbed spines at the abdominal 

 apex. It was nearly a month later, August twelfth, before 

 this chrysalis underwent transformation into a moth. It then 

 split open along the back at the forward end of the body and 

 from it an unpretentious looking moth emerged. The thorax 

 and forewings of the latter were light brown, with some slight 

 shadings, while the underwings were nearly plain creamy 

 white. The expanded wings measured nearly one and a 

 quarter inches. The moth was unable to shake off a small 

 triangular piece of the chrysalis that had broken off and 

 adhered to its head. 



Another singular incident happened to the caterpillar while 

 I was first rearing it. The day after it was taken indoors I 

 found it apparently drowned in the vessel of water supplied 

 to sustain the food plant. The caterpillar had all the ai)pear- 

 ance of being dead, having sunk to the bottom of the glass 

 bottle, and was perfectly "water-logged" when it was recovered. 

 The sun was shining outdoors very warmly, and the thought 

 occurred to me that possibly the caterpillar could be resusci- 

 tated by exposing it to the sun's drying rays. The insect 

 was thereupon placed on a board out of doors in full sunlight, 

 and before long the experiment bore fruit in signs of returning 

 life. First the legs behind began to twitch a little, then in 

 the course of several minutes, by industrious fanning and 

 turning of the body, the caterpillar gradually regained its 

 former live attitude, being able to use and stand on its legs. 

 Finally it could cling to the leaves again, and ultimately recov- 



