258 NATURAL HISTORY. [cH. 



that of the hole, and also forms a kind of beak which 

 enters the aperture. Although this cocoon is at- 

 tached to the sides of the cavity, it is not for the 

 purpose of supporting it, for the cocoon which Reau- 

 mur extracted, after removing by degrees portions 

 of the gall, retained its full distention. In one of 

 these cocoons was found a butterfly, which perished 

 before it had finished disencumbering itself of its 

 pupa-case, and was therefore not in a condition to 

 make us acquainted with its characters, as its body 

 and wings were not fully developed ; the latter, how- 

 ever, were of a whitish gray. 



During all seasons, but more especially in autumn, 

 small resinous lumps may be seen on the branches 

 of the young pine. These, which at first view ap- 

 pear to be similar to the gummy exudations of the 

 cherry and other fruit-trees, are, in reality, galls 

 not produced by chance, the rays of the sun, or any 

 mechanical cause, but by a little moth, and intended 

 as a habitation for its young. Degeer, who first 

 discovered this curious insect retreat, was no less 

 astonished than pleased by his discovery. These 

 resinous galls vary in size, the largest being about 

 one inch in diameter and the same in length. Their 

 external surface is rough, their shape oval, and 

 they are fixed to one side only of the branch on 

 which they adhere. The branqh itself increases, 

 for the most part, so much in size, as to become 

 monstrous. If one of these resinous galls be cut 

 longitudinally, and parallel with the branch, it will 

 be found that it contains a species of kernel, in the 

 middle of which the caterpillar lies buried. Be- 

 tween the walls of the kernel and those of the 

 enveloping gall there is an empty space. The 

 cavity is commodious enough; its inner surface is 

 lined with a thick layer of brown excrescence, which 

 the caterpillar has arranged around its habitation 

 apparently for the purpose of convenience and 

 cleanliness, to ensure which it covers this layer 



