198 TRUE TALES OF THE INSECTS. 



screened from the fierce rays of the sun within a thin, 

 transparent, silky web. At night, no longer sluggish, 

 it quits its cover, greedily stripping Omphalea of its 

 foliage, so that trees are left with scarcely a single leaf; 

 nor is it inactive in the daytime when disturbed, but 

 can run about quickly, and shows little affinity to the 

 caterpillars of other diurnal Lepidoptera, which usually 

 have a slow motion. 



In February, and the ensuing months of spring and 

 summer, the perfect insect deposits its eggs on the 

 tender incised leaves, laying them singly, and apparently 

 rarely attaching more than two to the same leaf, gluing 

 each ^g^ to its destined leaf by alighting on it merely 

 for a moment. They are pale green, sometimes turning 

 to yellow, and spherical as a rule ; and on the whole 

 their surface is not smooth, but ornamental, for from 

 the summit proceed a number of longitudinal ribs, the 

 spaces between which are crossed at right angles by 

 obsolete striae. The young larva, just hatched, is of 

 nearly the same pale green, with a yellowish head, but 

 ere it reaches maturity its appearance undergoes con- 

 siderable alteration. It is then about two inches long, 

 and moderately hairy ; and while the body varies in tint 

 from a pale yellowish green to a flesh colour, the head 

 is now red, irregularly sprinkled with some black spots, 

 and the prothorax is of a velvety black, though sometimes 

 white predominates. The head, be it said, is polished 



