THE CABBAGE-CATERPILLAR 299 



which they look to supply them with ropes, other cater- 

 pillars beginning their existence on smooth and steeply 

 slanting leaves also take as their first mouthful the mem- 

 branous sack which is all that remains of the egg. 



The whole of the platform of birth-sacks which was 

 the first camping-ground of the White Butterfly's family 

 is razed to the ground; naught remains but the round 

 marks of the individual pieces that composed it. The 

 structure of piles has disappeared ; the prints left by the 

 piles remain. The little caterpillars are now on the 

 level of the leaf which shall henceforth feed them. They 

 are a pale orange-yellow, with a sprinkling of white 

 bristles. The head is a shiny black and remarkably 

 powerful; it already gives signs of the coming gluttony. 

 The little animal measures scarcely two millimeters ^ in 

 length. 



The troop begins its steadying-work as soon as it comes 

 into contact with its pasturage, the green cabbage-leaf. 

 Here, there, in its immediate neighborhood, each grub 

 emits from its spinning glands short cables so slender 

 that it takes an attentive lens to catch a glimpse of them. 

 This is enough to ensure the equilibrium of the almost 

 imponderable atom. 



The vegetarian meal now begins. The grub's length 

 promptly increases from two millimeters to four. Soon, 

 a moult takes place which alters its costume: its skin 

 becomes speckled, on a pale-yellow ground, with a 

 number of black dots intermingled with white bristles. 

 Three or four days of rest are necessary after the fatigue 



1 .078 inch. — Translator's Note. 



