The Caterpillar 



a half-fed hibernating caterpillar, or as a chrysalis ; 

 and in a few cases it is only the female which passes 

 the winter in some secure retreat, to emerge again in 

 the spring, and then deposit her eggs on the fresh- 

 growing verdure. But, generally speaking, eggs kid 

 during the summer hatch out in from ten to sixteen 

 days. And it is well to be on the lookout for the 

 young larvae even earlier, if you intend to rear some 

 species in confinement. If you have secured eggs to 

 rear from, watch them from day to day to see if they 

 darken, as they often assume a dark leaden hue im- 

 mediately before hatching. This is a useful warning, 

 and serves as a hint to have plenty of fresh food ready 

 for the young family about to arrive. 



The caterpillars are ravenous eaters ; you will not 

 notice this fact particularly at first, because they are 

 then such tiny creatures, but in proportion to their size 

 their eating capacity is enormous. They grow at an 

 exceedingly rapid rate and to such an extent that they 

 literally burst their skins ! In a very short time three 

 or four days the old skin bursts and out comes 

 Mr. Caterpillar with a brand-new one. And this is 

 the manner of their growth ; several times (five or six) 

 this skin-shedding process is repeated. And then the 

 creature prepares for the last and final change before 

 turning into a butterfly. 



There are one or two more points I would ask you 

 to notice about our caterpillar ere we pass on to con- 

 sider his next stage. The legs are generally sixteen in 

 number. There are six true legs, one pair on each of 

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