CATERPILLARS INNUMERABLE 125 



pillar becomes more terrible, but also, strange to 

 say, more protectively coloured. From black it 

 becomes green and, as its bulk increases, gets at 

 each change a greater complexity of shading to 

 break up the surface, and harmonize it with the 

 varied lighting of foliage. At length, when the 

 caterpillar is four inches long and nearly an inch 

 in diameter, its mainly green body is decorated 

 along the sides with white o's like portholes, the 

 head is tucked into two or three double chins by 

 the telescoping of the neck segments, a lurid 

 scarlet band is drawn round it like a scarlet shawl 

 round a woman's face, and over that a brown 

 shawl with a staring white border covers the whole 

 back, and is gathered round the aldermanic waist. 

 The creature sits with its head up, apparently 

 regarding the world through two dead-black eyes, 

 which are really only daubs of paint. The two 

 tails stick up barred with black and white, and 

 when the creature is irritated it bends head and 

 tails together and sends out the red whips in 

 venomous curves. Few countrymen dare to pick 

 up the monster when they meet it. 



This caterpillar has another wonder in store, in 

 the iron-hard cocoon-case it spins by incorporating 

 gnawed fragments of wood with its silk. We must 

 leave that and other wonders, however, for future 

 exploration, for there are many other caterpillars. 

 Carefully bestowed on the under sides of poplar 

 leaves we find the green eggs of poplar hawks. 

 Rarely scattered on sallow or apple leaves are the 



