144 



THE INSECT WORLD. 



c onH tlinse which nourish themselves on the pulp of 

 are numerous, ^ ^ those wi^^^^^^ ^^^ caterpillars prefer the 



ft-mts are aie. ^\^,f '^n^ do not show bad taste. Their growth 

 fs'more or k s ra^id aTc^^^^^^^^^ to the species, accordmg to the 



hat'f^; tl^^^^^^^^^^^^ Pl-^^ i:.d coriaceous licW 



Most t em eat at night, and remam during the day motion ess, 

 anfas't^^reinasta^ others are so voracious that they 



a^ constant y eating. This veracity is indeed sometimes surprising. 

 MalXh^^^^^^^^^ that a silkworm often eats m a day mulberry 



leave "^^^ to its own weight. How could we provide our horse 

 iXxen ^ith provender, if they required each ^ay tl-^r own ;veig^^ 

 of hav and grass ? There are even some caterpillars which a e stU 

 il fvoracio^ than that. Reaumur weighed severa caterpil ars of 

 n'eaes which lives on the cabbage and gave them ^its of cabbag. 

 leaves which weighed twice as much as their bodies. In ess than 

 twenty-four hours they had entirely consumed them. In this space ^ 

 of time their weight increased one-tenth. Fancy a man whos 

 weight is i8o lbs. ^eating m one day 360 lbs. of meat and gannn 

 ° 1 8 lbs. m weight 1 Caterpillar 



eat by the aid of two jaws 

 mandibles so broad and soh( 

 that, considering the smallnes 

 of the insect, they are equ 

 valent to all the teeth wit 

 which large animals are fu 

 nished. It is by the alternat 

 movement of these mandiblt 

 that th€ caterpillars devour tl; 

 leaves with so much greec 

 ness and ease. 



" A caterpillar, when 

 wants to gnaw the edge of 

 leaf," says Reaumur, "twis. 

 its body in such a way that 

 least one portion of the ed: 

 of this leaf is passed between its legs. These legs hold fast th 

 portion of the leaf which is to be cut by the insect's jaws (x 

 101). To give the first bite the caterpillar elongates its body, a 

 carries its head as far forward as possible. The portion of the 1( 

 which is between the open jaws is cut through the instant the tee 



Fig. loi.— Looper Caterpillar eating the leaves of the 

 Apricot (after Reaumur). 



