CHAPTER VI 



THE PINE PROCESSIONARY : THE STINGING 

 POWER 



THE Pine Processionary has three cos- 

 tumes : that of infancy, a scanty, ragged 

 fleece, a mixture of black and white; that of 

 middle age, the richest of the three, when the 

 segments deck themselves on their dorsal sur- 

 face with golden tufts and a mosaic of bare 

 patches, scarlet in colour; and that of ma- 

 turity, when the rings are cleft by slits which 

 one by one open and close their thick lips, 

 champing and grinding their bristling russet 

 beards and chewing them into little pellets, 

 which are thrown out on the creature's sides 

 when the bottom of the pocket swells up like 

 a tumour. 



When wearing this last costume, the cater- 

 pillar is very disagreeable to handle, or even 

 to observe at close quarters. I happened, 

 quite unexpectedly, to learn this more tho- 

 roughly than I wished. 



After unsuspectingly passing a whole morn- 

 128 



