CATERPILLARS. 161 



the form of a gallery, where it may feed in safety. 

 We have repeatedly seen one of them when just 

 escaped from the egg, and only a few lines long, 

 fix several silk threads from one edge of a leaf, to 

 the other, or from the edge to the mid-rib. Then 

 going to the middle of the space, he shortened the 

 threads by bending them with his feet, and conse- 

 quently pulled the edges of the leaves into a circular 

 form; and he retained them in that position by glue- 

 ing down each thread as he shortened it. In their 

 younger state, those caterpillars seldom roll more 

 than a small portion of the leaf; but when farther 

 advanced, they unite the two edges together in their 

 whole extent, with the exception of a small opening 

 at one end, by which an exit may be made in case 

 of need. 



Nest of a Lilac-leaf Roller. 



Another species of caterpillar closely allied to this, 

 rolls up the lilac-leaves in a different form, beginning 

 at the end of a leaf, and fixing and pulling its threads 

 till it gets it nearly into the shape of a scroll of 

 parchment. To retain this form more securely, it is 



VOL. IV. 14* 



