FABRE'S BOOK OF INSECTS 



an inch in length. A dozen rotten straws, picked up 

 at random and fixed close to one another in a parallel 

 direction, represent, with the silk sheath, his whole out- 

 lay on dress. 



It would be difficult to clothe oneself more economi- 

 cally. 



II 



A DEVOTED MOTHER 



If I gather a number of little Psyches in April and 

 place them in a wire bell-jar, I can find out more about 

 them. Most of them are in the chrysalis state, waiting 

 to be turned into Moths, but a few are still active and 

 clamber to the top of the wire trellis. There they fix 

 themselves by means of a little silk cushion, and both 

 they and I must wait for weeks before anything further 

 happens. 



At the end of June the male Psyche comes out of his 

 case, no longer a Caterpillar, but a Moth. The case, 

 or bundle of sticks, you will remember, had two openings, 

 one in front and one at the back. The front one, which 

 is the more regular and carefully made, is permanently 

 closed by being fastened to the support on which the 

 chrysalis is fixed; so the Moth, when he is hatched, is 

 obliged to come out by the opening at the back. The 



[94] 



