ROADSIDE LIFE. 239 



KATYDID. 



I love to hear thine earnest voice, 



Wherever thou art hid, 

 Thou testy little dogmatist, 



Thou pretty katydid ! 

 Thou mindest me of gentle folks — 



Old gentle folks are they — 

 Thou say'st an undisputed thing 



In such a solemn way. 



Oliver Wendell Holmes. 



^ CATERPILLARS, MOTHS, AND BUTTERFLIES. 



The Tiger-moths. 



Among the very many kinds of caterpillars that 

 may be found by roadsides, the most common and 

 most widely distributed are the larvse of certain 

 tiger-moths. These larvas are densely clothed with 

 hair, and are often found running over the surface of 

 the ground ; for many species seem to have but little 

 choice of food plant, but roam free like cattle in a 

 pasture. When full grown these larvae spin cocoons, 

 which are composed of the hair of the larvas fastened 

 together with a thin warp of silk. The adults are 

 called tiger-moths because many of the species are 

 conspicuously spotted. 



The tiger-moths constitute the family Arctiid^ 

 (Arc-ti'i-das). There is not space here to describe 

 other moths that occur by roadsides. 



In collecting these larvae for breeding observe in 

 the case of each species whether it is restricted to 

 some particular kind of plant or not. In the former 

 case the breeding cage should be supplied with that 

 kind of plant, but in the latter case a sod of grass 

 will probably furnish the larvae satisfactory food. 



