32 CATERPILLARS AND THEIR MOTHS 



heads against the cover. We have once had a boxful 

 of these caterpillars escape in this way. Luckily we 

 found them before any one else saw them, and since 

 then we have always put them in deep boxes with a 

 rubber band around each to hold the cover down, and 

 have had no further trouble. Even in summer board- 

 ing-houses and hotels no one objects to our having 

 caterpillars kept in this way. Its safety is recognized. 



Caterpillar-tins need to be cleaned out at least once 

 a day, and it is a good plan to have an empty tin — a 

 " saltines " box, for instance — into which the cater- 

 pillars may be put while their box is made clean and 

 fresh twigs or leaves are supplied. A bristle paint- 

 brush about half an inch wide, with a handle eight or 

 ten inches long, is a great help in cleaning the boxes. 

 If the excrement is very soft, a little sand on the bot- 

 tom of the box keeps it much cleaner. 



The piece of scrim over the top of the box should be 

 large enough to hang down on all sides for half an inch 

 or more. We found that we occasionally beheaded a 

 caterpillar, in putting on the box-cover, before we 

 used scrim, but we have had no trouble since. With 

 several very lively crawlers in a large box it is difficult 

 to be sure that all are safely out of harm's way, 

 especially since some species are much excited by light 

 and crawl toward it very fast. The scrim keeps them 

 away from the edge and saves some lives. 



Leaves should not be left in the tins after they 

 begin to lose their freshness, or after the caterpillars 

 have eaten a part and abandoned them. Fresh food 

 and plenty of it, a few drops of water, clean tins, and 

 no crowding are the essentials. 



