WOOLY BEARS. 77 
THE ISABELLA TIGER-MOTH. 
(Pyrrharctia isabella S. & A.). 
This is the well-known caterpillar frequently called the 
“Hedge-Hog,”’ from the habit of rolling itself into a ball | 
when alarmed (Fig. 75). It has a thick coat of fur, com- 
posed of stiff hairs, which point in all directions. The hairs 
are black on each end of the body of the caterpillar, but red- 
dish on the middle. As all the hairs are pretty evenly and 
closely shorn they give the caterpillar a velvety appearance, 
Fig. 75.—Pyrrharctia isabella S. & A.; a, caterpillar; b, pupa in cocoon; 
c, moth. After Riley. 
and as they are also very elastic, it is not easy to pick up 
the curled larva, which generally manages to slip away. 
Its favorite food is plantain, clover, dandelions, grasses and 
many other plants. It winters over in some sheltered spot, 
rolled up like a hedge-hog. In most cases it finds shelter 
below loose bark, under pieces of bark resting on the ground, 
and is found in large numbers under wooden sidewalks. It is 
difficult to understand that an insect thus slightly protected 
should be able to withstand some of our very cold winters, 
and that the fluids found in its body are not frozen solid. 
Early in the spring the caterpillar makes up for the long 
