XXX. 



THE FRIENDS AND ASSOCIATES OF CATERPILLARS 



One of the most surprising statements which 

 have been made regarding the caterpillars of but- 

 terflies is that they are sometimes accompanied by 

 ants, which seem to guard them with great jeal- 

 ousy, running about them with nervous activity, 

 and rushing with open jaws at any creature that 

 approaches. This phenomenon, first observed 

 more than a century ago, has been repeatedly wit- 

 nessed by others, but owing to the fact that the 

 caterpillars in question are very small, usually of 

 the color of the leaf or flower upon which they may 

 be feeding, slow in movement and of a flattened 

 form, they are among the least known of our cat- 

 erpillars and rarely are seen by the casual observer. 

 For the only caterpillars which are thus accom- 

 panied are, as far as known, those which belong to 

 the sub-family of the Lycaeninae, and indeed to 

 the tribe of Lycaenini or Blues, minute butterflies 

 whose caterpillars rarely attain a length of an inch. 



