184 THE LIFE OF AN INSECT. 



did not convince them, and they made answer that, 

 although it did not sting him, it would undoubt- 

 edly sting them. 



The weapon of another is thus pleasantly de- 

 scribed by De Greer : " In the month of July, 

 I found a caterpillar resting upon a small twig, 

 which I cut off in order to enable me to ex- 

 amine it more attentively. As I was scrutinizing 

 its appearance, I happened, accidentally, to touch 

 its body. Instantly there shot out, from a spot near 

 the head, two streams of clear fluid, which struck 

 me on the face, and partly entered one of my eyes, 

 causing a very acute, but fortunately, not a very 

 enduring pain. My surprise at this salute pre- 

 vented my taking particular notice of the place 

 from whence the jets proceeded. It appears pro- 

 bable that this caterpillar has been thus endowed 

 with this squirting apparatus to enable it to defend 

 itself against its enemies, or at least, to assist in 

 frightening, or perhaps in hunting, its prey. For 

 myself, I confess, after the reception I had met 

 with, I felt some degree of fear at too nearly ap- 

 proaching it." 



On examining them carefully at another oppor- 

 tunity, this entomologist found that these cater- 



