SPINNERS AND WEAVERS 17 



and pass the autumn and winter in an inactive 

 condition; but as soon as vegetation becomes 

 active in spring these caterpillars throw off their 

 sluggishness and leave their winter shelter. Each 

 now goes his own way and lives independently of 

 his fellows. The caterpillars of the Glanville 

 Fritillary (Melitesa cinxia) adopt a modification of 

 this plan. They live in company, and when about 

 a month old spin a common tent in which they 

 pass the winter, leaving it in spring, when they 

 separate somewhat. 



The eggs of the Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly 

 {Vanessa urtica) are laid in a batch of sixty or 

 more on a terminal leaf of stinging nettle, and as 

 soon as they are hatched the tiny caterpillars set 

 to work spinning a tent which includes a number 

 of leaves, and as these are eaten by them they 

 extend the bounds of their tent to include more 

 food. Here they remain in company until more 

 than half-grown, when they separate. The Peacock 

 Butterfly {Vanessa id) and the Camberwell Beauty 

 {Vanessa antiopa) follow a similar method in the 

 larval stage ; but the caterpillars of the Red Admiral 

 {Pyrantels atalanta) and the Painted Lady {Pyrantels 

 cardui), whose eggs are laid singly, naturally follow 

 a different course, though they are both spinners. 

 Each young caterpillar constructs a habitation for 

 itself, by connecting the edges of the leaf upon 

 which it was born with another leaf on the stem of 

 the plant — the Red Admiral on the nettle, the 

 Painted Lady on the thistle. 

 2 



