224 INSECTS lyjURlOl'S TO THE QUiyCE. 



enabled to cliug to the silkeu lining of its bag and drag it 

 along wherever it goes. The outer surface of the bag is 

 rough and irregular from the protruding portions of the 

 stems and leaves which are woven into it. During their 

 growth these caterpillars are slow travellers, seldom leaving 

 the tree on which they were hatched ; but when about full 

 grown they become much more active, and often lower them- 

 selves to the ground by silken threads, and slowly wander 

 from place to place. 



When about to change to chrysalids, they fasten their bags 

 securely to the twigs of the trees on which they happen to be, 

 and then undergo their change. The male chrysalis, shown at 

 6, Fig. 226, is much smaller than the female, which is seen 

 within the bag at e. 



The female moth is wingless, and never leaves the bag, but 

 works her way to its lower orifice, and there awaits the attend- 

 ance of the male. She is not only without wings, but is des- 

 titute of legs also ; in short, she seems to be nothing more than 

 a yellowish bag of eggs with a ring of soft, pale-brown, silky 

 hair near the tail. She is represented at c in the figure. The 

 male (d, Fig. 226) has transparent wings and a black body, and 

 is very active on the wing during the warmer portions of the 

 day. After pairing, the female deposits her eggs, intermingled 

 with fawn-colored down, within the empty pupa-case, and 

 when this task is completed she works her way out of the 

 case, drops exhausted to the ground, and dies. 



The bag-worm is a Southern rather than a Northern insect, 

 although it is found as far north as New Jersey and New 

 York, and occasionally in Massachusetts ; it is extremely local 

 in its character, often abounding in one particular neigiibor- 

 hood and totally unknown a few miles away. Where they 

 occur in abundance they often almost entirely defoliate the 

 trees they attack ; this, however, may be easily prevented 

 by gathering the cases which contain the eggs for the next 

 brood during the winter and destroying them. There are 

 two species of Ichneumon which attack the bag-worm : one of 



