26 OMENSETTER : 



by shears to the same length. The hairs on the first four and 

 last two rings are black, while those on the six intermediate 

 rings are tan red. The head and body of the caterpillar are 

 also black. When one of these larvse is taken up, it imme- 

 diately rolls into a ball like a hedge hog. Owing to its form 

 and the elasticity of the diverging hairs with which it is cov- 

 ered, the caterpillar readily slides from the fingers and hand 

 of its captor. This species feeds upon the leaves of the clover, 

 dandelion, narrow leaved plantain, or of various other herba- 

 ceous plants, and upon the approach of Winter creeps under 

 stones, rails or boards on the ground, where it remains quies- 

 cent until Spring. In April or May the recluse makes an 

 oval, blackish cocoon, composed chiefly of the hairs of its 

 body, and comes forth a perfect insect in June or July as the 

 Isabella tiger moth. 



The greater number of mature crickets die on the advent 

 of cold weather, but a few survive its rigors by sheltering 

 themselves under stones or in holes secure from the access of 

 water. 



If insects can boast of enjoying a greater variety of food 

 than many other living creatures, this advantage seems at 

 first sight more than counterbalanced in our climate by the 

 temporary nature of their supply. To the great majority of 

 insects the earth for nearly half the year is a barren desert, 

 affording no appropriate nourishment. As soon as cold has 

 stripped the vegetable world of foliage, the vast host of insects 

 that feeds on the leaves of plants must necessarily fast until 

 the return of Spring. How is this difficulty provided for ? 

 By a beautiful series of provisions founded on the faculty of 

 passing the Winter in a state of torpor — by ordaining that 

 the insect shall live through that period either in an incom- 

 plete state of its existence, when its organs of nutrition are 

 undeveloped, or, if the active epoch of its life has commenced, 

 that it shall seek out suitable Winter quarters and in them fall 

 into a profound sleep, during which a supply of food stuffs is 

 equally unnecessary. 



