AN ECCENTRIC PRECENTOR 145 



and remember that he is only an important puss- moth 

 caterpillar, it is not half so mysterious. If we watch 

 and wait for a moment or two we shall doubtless 

 ness a return of that buzzing fly a parasite, perhaps 

 that has just been tickling him. 



The puss- moth caterpillar is quite common upon 

 young aspens, and will be readily recognized from my 

 portrait. It is an amusing insect, and, so far as I have 

 seen, those peculiar rosy whip -lashes concealed within 

 the forked tail, to be used when occasion demands, are 

 not described in the popular works on natural history. 



