TENT-MAKING CATERPILLARS. 195 



We have seen these caterpillars form their habitations of 

 every sort of insect, from a butterfly to a beetle ; and the 

 soft, feathery wings of moths answer their purpose very 

 well : but when they fall in with such hard materials as 

 the musk heetle (Cerambyx moschat us), or the large scolo- 

 pendra of the West Indies, they find some difficulty in the 

 building. 



When the structure is finished, the insect deems itself 

 secure to feed on the materials of the cloth or other 

 animal matter within its reach, provided it is dry and 

 free from fat or grease, which Reaumur found it would 

 not touch. This may probably be the origin of the 

 practice of putting a bit of candle with furs, &c., to pre- 

 serve them from the moth. For building, it always selects 

 the straightest and loosest pieces of wool, but for food it 

 prefers the shortest and most compact ; and to procure 

 these it eats into the body of the stuff, rejecting the pile 

 or nap, which it necessarily cuts across at the origin, and 

 permits to fall, leaving it threadbare, as if it had been 

 much worn. It must have been this circumstance which 

 induced Bonnet to fancy (as we have already mentioned) 

 that it cuts the hairs to make itself a smooth, comfortable 

 path to walk upon. It would be equally correct to .say 

 that an ox or a sheep dislikes walking amongst long 

 grass, and therefore eats it down in order to clear the 

 way. 



Tent-makixg Caterpillars. 



The caterpillars of a family of small moths (Tineidce), 

 which feed on the leaves of various trees, such as the 

 hawthorn, the elm, the oak, and most fruit-trees, particu- 

 larly the pear, form habitations which are exceedingly 

 ingenious and elegant. They are so very minute that 

 they require close inspection to discover them ; and to 

 the cursory observer, unacquainted with their habits, they 

 will appear more like the withered leaf-scales of the tree, 

 thrown off when the buds expand, than artificial structures 

 made by insects. It is only, indeed, by seeing them move 

 about upon the leaves, that we discover they are inhabited 



