﻿THE 
  TENT 
  CATERPILLAR. 
  

  

  By 
  R. 
  E. 
  Snodgrass. 
  

   Office 
  of 
  Fruit 
  Insect 
  Investigations, 
  Bureau 
  of 
  Entomology. 
  

  

  [With 
  1 
  plate.] 
  

   THE 
  LIFE 
  OF 
  THE 
  CATERPILLAR. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  those 
  bleak 
  days 
  of 
  early 
  spring 
  that 
  so 
  often 
  follow 
  

   a 
  period 
  of 
  warmth 
  and 
  sunshine, 
  when 
  living 
  things 
  seem 
  led 
  to 
  

   believe 
  the 
  fine 
  weather 
  has 
  come 
  to 
  stay. 
  

  

  Out 
  in 
  the 
  woods 
  a 
  band 
  of 
  little 
  caterpillars 
  is 
  clinging 
  to 
  the 
  

   surface 
  of 
  what 
  appears 
  to 
  be 
  an 
  oval 
  swelling 
  near 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  a 
  

   twig 
  on 
  a 
  wild 
  cherry 
  tree 
  (fig. 
  1). 
  The 
  

   tiny 
  creatures, 
  scarce 
  the 
  tenth 
  of 
  an 
  inch 
  

   in 
  length, 
  sit 
  motionless, 
  benumbed 
  by 
  the 
  

   cold, 
  many 
  with 
  bodies 
  bent 
  into 
  half 
  

   circles 
  as 
  if 
  too 
  nearly 
  frozen 
  to 
  straighten 
  

   out. 
  Probably, 
  however, 
  they 
  are 
  all 
  

   unconscious 
  and 
  suffering 
  nothing. 
  Yet, 
  

   if 
  they 
  were 
  capable 
  of 
  it, 
  they 
  would 
  be 
  

   wondering 
  what 
  fate 
  brought 
  them 
  into 
  

   such 
  a 
  forbidding 
  world. 
  

  

  But 
  fate 
  in 
  this 
  case 
  was 
  disguised 
  most 
  

   likely 
  in 
  the 
  warmth 
  of 
  yesterday, 
  which 
  

   induced 
  the 
  caterpillars 
  to 
  leave 
  the 
  eggs 
  

   in 
  which 
  they 
  had 
  safely 
  passed 
  the 
  win- 
  

   ter. 
  The 
  empty 
  shells 
  are 
  inside 
  the 
  

   spindle-shaped 
  thing 
  that 
  looks 
  so 
  like 
  a 
  

   swelling 
  of 
  the 
  twig, 
  for, 
  in 
  fact, 
  this 
  is 
  

   merely 
  a 
  protective 
  covering 
  over 
  a 
  mass 
  of 
  eggs 
  glued 
  fast 
  to 
  the 
  

   bark. 
  The 
  surface 
  of 
  the 
  covering 
  is 
  perforated 
  by 
  many 
  little 
  holes 
  

   from 
  which 
  the 
  caterpillars 
  emerged, 
  and 
  is 
  swathed 
  in 
  a 
  network 
  

   of 
  fine 
  silk 
  threads 
  which 
  the 
  caterpillars 
  spun 
  over 
  it 
  to 
  give 
  them- 
  

   selves 
  a 
  surer 
  footing 
  and 
  one 
  they 
  might 
  cling 
  to 
  unconsciously 
  in 
  

   the 
  event 
  of 
  adverse 
  weather, 
  such 
  as 
  that 
  which 
  makes 
  them 
  helpless 
  

   now. 
  When 
  nature 
  designs 
  any 
  creature 
  to 
  live 
  under 
  trying 
  circum- 
  

   stances 
  she 
  grants 
  it 
  some 
  safeguard 
  against 
  destruction. 
  

  

  329 
  

  

  Fig. 
  1. 
  — 
  Young 
  tent 
  caterpil- 
  

   lars 
  just 
  hatched 
  from 
  an 
  

   egg 
  mass 
  on 
  a 
  twig 
  (11 
  

   times 
  natural 
  size). 
  

  

  