10 CATERPILLARS AND THEIR MOTHS 



show different habits. Some staj^ in one place for a 

 long time, as if resting or growing strong ; others crawl 

 abont as fast as they can ; some turn around and 

 rapidly devour the shells from which they have just 

 come ; others eat a part of the shell and eat it slowly ; 

 others take much rapid exercise before eating any of 

 the shell ; and still others crawl as far away from their 

 shells as they can before feeding or resting. It may 

 be nearly a day before the young caterpillars begin to 

 eat the leaves ; indeed, the tent-caterpillars often hatch 

 before there are any leaves to eat and have to wait for 

 them to open. All the caterpillars we have reared 

 have been eager for water and have drunk thirstily the 

 drops sprinkled on the leaves. 



A caterpillar is made up of a head with its appen- 

 dages, and a body divided into rings or segments, with 

 their appendages. The thoracic segments of the body 

 are the first three behind the head. The other seg- 

 ments are the abdominal segments. In our descrip- 

 tions of caterpillars the "first segment" is that next 

 the head. 



The head is made up of a few segments so closely 

 held together that they seem one piece with lines, or 

 sutures, showing the divisions. The eyes are the sim- 

 plest form of eyes, ocel'li, and can distinguish only light 

 and darkness, so that caterpillars cannot be said to see 

 at all. The mouth-parts are placed at the lower part 

 of the head and may be watched in action very easily. 



The mouth-parts of a caterpillar are the la'hnmi, or 

 " upper lip," the mandibles or true cutting jaws with 

 which the caterpillar bites off bits of the leaf ; the fii'st 

 pair of maxirice, which bite the piece smaller and help 



