NATURE'S CRAFTSMEN 



mon with insect larvae, to the lower and terminal end 

 of the abdomen. There is another distinction. With 

 spiders the tailoring instinct is largely applied to pre- 

 serve the young. It is altruistic as well as personal. 



A BABY SPIDER .S SILKEN TENT AND CRADLE 



1. Silk-sewn leaf-nest of spider. — 2. Interior of same. — 3. Cluster 

 of ei!;2;s whose silken enswathenient is thrown back 



With the silkworm and its order it is used exclusively 

 for self-protection. 



One of the most ingenious of the tailoring insects is 

 the bagworm. Even those whose foliage plants suffer 

 from its depredations must allow that its endowments, 

 if provoking, are interesting. Indeed, it seems to be a 

 rule that nature's mischievous children have the most 

 interesting habits; and thereto our own race is no ex- 

 ception, especially in the period of life that corresponds 



206 



