London Insects. 137 



rescue ; and in spite of a Hecatomb to Dagon some 

 hundred Caterpillars, all alike, pale underneath, with 

 dark olive-green pencilled backs, thrown into the 

 aquarium for the fishes to fatten upon pet geraniums 

 were demolished, and some twenty feet of rich rank 

 tradescantia, a plant despised in the country, but very 

 precious to London gardeners for its succulent green- 

 ness, which can defy even smoke and dirt, stripped 

 almost to bare stalks. Something over two-thirds of 

 the entire length of a Caterpillar is a disproportioned 

 stomach which the owner must work night and day 

 to fill, nipping away for dear life at whatever green 

 thing comes within reach of his ugly vertical 

 jaws. 



The rapid growth of Caterpillars would be incredible 

 if we had not proof. A healthy man takes perhaps 

 30 years to reach his full growth in height and breadth, 

 and when he has done so weighs probably some 

 twenty times as much as he did when he was born. 

 A Caterpillar will increase its weight proportionately 

 500 times as much in 30 days. It is difficult to realise 

 what such figures mean ; we can get a clearer notion 

 by reversing them. Fancy a baby born of ordinary 

 size growing at such a pace as to weigh when a month 

 old as much as six or seven big elephants together ! 

 For the father of a family the idea is too appalling to 

 joke about, but it is no more than would be actually 

 the case if the human animal grew at the rate a well- 

 fed caterpillar will grow in one summer month. Mr. 

 Newport has given from actual observation the weights 

 of the larva of the Privet Hawk Moth the large, 

 smooth, green Caterpillar, with pink stripes on the 

 side and a horn at the tail at different ages. On 

 leaving the egg, its weight is not more than about 

 one-eightieth of a grain. When full grown, 32 days 



