THE TRIBE OF THE SOVEREIGNS 199 



studied by several eminent naturalists. One of these is the 

 strange habit the very young caterpillars have of fastening 

 a few bits of leaf together by means of silken threads and 

 then tying the bunch to the denuded rib of the leaf. To 

 explain this, allow me to quote from an admirable essay of 

 the late Samuel H. Scudder, whose studies of butterflies 

 have added so much to our knowledge of these beautiful 

 creatures: 



"Soon after birth," wrote Mr. Scudder, "when it has 

 eaten but a very few swaths down the leaf, the little fellow 

 constructs a small and loose packet from minute bits of 

 leaf and other rejectamenta, loosely fastened to one an- 

 other and to the midrib, close to but scarcely touching the 

 eaten edge of the leaf; and as fast as the leaf is eaten, it re- 

 moves this packet (continually added to until it becomes 

 almost as big as a small pea) farther and farther down the 

 midrib away from its perch, always keeping it near the 

 eaten edge. It should be noted that it is so loosely at- 

 tached (the bits of leaf at all possible angles) that it is 

 moved by the least breath. Meanwhile, the caterpillar 

 has been growing larger and more conspicuous, and thus in 

 greater peril from its enemies. There are two possible 

 services that this odd packet may render. A spider 

 wandering over a leaf and observing its motion may seize 

 it, and thinking it has a prize, hurry away with it and leave 

 its architect unharmed. This seems to me rather a 

 strained suggestion, for a wandering spider w^ould prob- 

 ably proceed to investigate it on the spot. Another ex- 

 planation seems more probable. It should be remembered 

 that the leaves preferred by these creatures as food are 

 mostly such as are easily shaken by the wind, and as the 

 caterpillar moves with the leaf and with all the surround- 



