98 THE LIFE-STORY OF INSECTS [CH. 



remain until the spring, when they come out to feed 

 on the young foliage and grow rapidly into the con- 

 spicuous cream, yellow and black ' looper ' caterpillars 

 mentioned in a previous chapter (p. 60). These, 

 when fully-grown, spin among the twigs of the food- 

 plant a light cocoon, in which the black and yellow- 

 banded wasp-like pupa spends its short summer term 

 before the emergence of the moth. 



An equally familiar garden insect, the common 

 'Tiger' moth (Arctia caia) with its 'woolly bear' 

 caterpillar, affords a life-cycle slightly differing from 

 that of the ' Magpie.' The gaudy winged insects are 

 seen in July and August, and lay their eggs on a 

 great variety of plants. The larvae hatched from 

 these eggs begin to feed at once, and having moulted 

 once or twice and attained about half their full size, 

 they rest through the winter, the dense hairy covering 

 wherewith they are provided forming an effective 

 protection against the cold. At the approach of 

 spring they begin to feed again, and the fully-grown 

 ' woolly bear' is a common object on garden paths 

 in May and June. Before midsummer it has usually 

 spun its yellow cocoon under some shelter on the 

 ground and changed into a pupa. 



Another modification with respect to seasonal 

 change is shown by the Turnip moth (Agrotis segetum) 

 and other allied Noctuidae (Owl-moths). These are 

 insects with brown-coloured wings, flying after dark 



