38 [July 
their legitimate diet ; they become restless, crawl wildly about, flock to the lightest 
part of the cage, squeeze themselves through ridiculously small apertures, entangle 
and suspend themselves hopelessly in festoons, and in fact do anything rather than 
settle down rationally to their breakfasts. Such individuals should be reared, until 
more accustomed to their new mode of life, in air-tight jam-pots, the tops of which 
are covered over with green glass, for the purpose of darkening the interior of the 
vessel ; a condition of things usually promotive of quietude amongst the brood — 
quietude giving time for reflection, and rise to second thoughts (proverbially best) 
that the cravings of nature should be satisfied even though the fare set before them 
be not precisely to their palate, and the apartment suggestive of the converse of 
their ideas of liberty ; moreover, at this, and indeed every stage, they should not be 
overcrowded. 
Then, again, others drop by silken threads on the approach of real or imaginary 
danger ; a wise provision, as I believe, for their preservation against birds and also 
cannibals, which, of course, could not well follow them down the thread. These, 
too, are most easily and best fed in air-tight cages ; but in their case the green 
glass cover may be dispensed with. 
It is the peculiarity (evidently in some way connected with the well-being of 
the creatures) of certain larvae to make their first meal off the egg-shells, or part of 
them, from which they have recently emerged ; others, for some inscrutable reason, 
shedding and devouring their first skin* before betaking themselves to their more 
orthodox mode of living. These should be left alone to crawl to their food ; indeed 
it should be put down as a rule that stationary larva? (especially little ones) should 
never be meddled with ; while crawling larva? are generally in want of some 
attention. 
Nor must it be forgotten that many small larva? (and big, too, for that matter) 
render themselves invisible by mining, entering buds, and spinning together leaves ; 
or elude our vigilance by closely fixing and assimilating themselves to the twigs, 
stalks, mid-ribs, and edges of the leaves of their food. With such experts to deal 
with, great circumspection is necessary in the changing process, not only that none 
of our cares may escape observation, but also that no clumsy handling may bring 
grief or even demolition to the tender objects of our solicitude. When larvse are 
known to have this sort of propensity, it is best to supply them with as small a 
quantity of fresh food as is consistent with their requirements, and in changing the 
same to let all parts remain which are in the lest degree suspected of, or capable of, 
containing occupants. 
N.B. — Of com'se, when pellets of excrement, even though in the case of certain 
neophytes microscopic, are observable, it may be taken for granted that (always 
excepting the presence of interlopers introduced with the food) our "cares" are 
availing themselves of their diet. 
Having thus touched upon some of the habits of little larva? which act as 
obstacles with which the larva-rearer has to contend, let us see in what manner 
other habits may be turned to account in assisting us in the changing process. 
Firstly, sometimes a very slight jar or even a pufi" of breath will dislodge pretty 
nearly every tenant of the bunch of food, — in which case we can quickly transfer 
* Some larvce also, Cerura vinuln, for example, eat their cast skins after each moult. 
