274 THE BUTTERFLIES OF XEW ENGLAND. 



In the same way when touched by another caterpillar it goes into a fury 

 of rage, throwing the whole front half of its body violently to one side and 

 the other and then causing the head to tremble vertically. If two, walk- 

 insf toward each other, meet and touch, the effect is ludicrous in the 

 extreme, as they stand and swing their heads about, often striking each 

 other violently in the operation. This is done as soon at least as after the 

 first moult. Later in life it manifests its displeasure by moving its head 

 in a circle around the leaf on which it rests, accompanying the movement 

 by little spasmodic recoiling starts, making the leaf tremble. 



Under natural circumstances, the caterpillar appears to feed almost 

 entirely by night, for dui'ing the day one almost invariably finds it taking 

 its siesta, while shortly after dark it is usually found either feeding or 

 moving toward its feeding place ; but in confinement it will feed quite as 

 much by day as by night. It never remains upon its feeding ground when 

 its appetite is satiated, but retires either to the untouched midrib of the 

 leaf where the sides have been eaten away (81 : 8) or, when larger, to a 

 twig ; in either case it stops when it has reached its favorite spot and rests 

 immovable, heading away from its food ; appetite returning, it wheels 

 about, hurries to its old feeding spot, and its meal finished, retires again 

 to its accustomed station for a new siesta. 



As the first tolerably full account of the hibernating habits of this cater- 

 pillar were given by Riley, I copy the account of their habits as given in 

 his third Missouri Report, an account based on an article on Imitative 

 Butterflies, by Messrs. Walsh and Riley ("the greater part of it written 

 by Mr. Walsh"), which had appeared earlier. 



The larvae of the autumual brood when about one-fourth or one-third grown, 

 build for themselves curious little houses, in whicli they pass the winter. First and 

 foremost — with wise forethought, and being well aware through its natural instincts, 

 that the leaf which it has selected for its house Avill fall to the ground when the cold 

 weather sets in, unless it talves measures to prevent this — the larva fastens the stem 

 of the leaf with silken cables securely to the twig from which it grows. It then 

 gnaws off the blade of the leaf at its tip end, leaving little else but the midrib. 

 Finally it rolls the remaining part of the blade of the leaf into a cylinder, sewing 

 the edges together with silk. The basal portion of the cylinder is of course tapered 

 to a point, as the edges of the leaf are merely drawn together, not overlapped ; 

 and invariably the lower side of the leaf forms the outside of the house, so as to have 

 its projecting midrib out of the way of the lai'va, as it reposes snugly in the inside. 

 The whole when fluished has somewhat the appeax-ance of the leaf of a miniature pitcher 

 plant (Sarracenia), its length being .50-.65 inch., and its diameter .11-. 14 inch. . . . 

 The blade on the tip piece is sometimes gnawed off right down to the rib; at 

 others it is left almost as broad as the tube. Sometimes it is bent over the 

 orifice; at others not. They are also much more irregular and ungainly when made 

 from broad leaves such as those of the silver poplar, than when made from the more 

 narrow leaves of the willoAV. These autumnal larvae have also another peculiar habit 

 not heretofore recorded, and which was first pointed out to me by Mr. J. A. Lintner, of 

 Albany, N. Y. They exhibit a tendency to build from the time they are born, and will 

 ahvays eat the leaves from the side, gnaAving large holes and cutting along the sides 

 of the mibrib. They commence at the tip and as they work downwards toward 



