The Life of the Caterpillar 



manifests itself in this shifting of quarters, 

 but that I see no bounds to my experiment, 

 so cheerfully do the caterpillars accept any 

 addition to their number. The more spin- 

 ners, the more spinning: a very judicious rule 

 of conduct. 



Let us add that the caterpillars which have 

 been transported cherish no regrets for their 

 old house. They are quite at home with the 

 others and make no attempt to regain the 

 nest whence they were banished by my arti- 

 fices. It is not the distance that discourages 

 them, for the empty dwelling is only half a 

 yard away at most. If, for the purpose of 

 my studies, I wish to restock the deserted 

 nest, I am obliged once more to resort to 

 transportation, which invariably proves suc- 

 cessful. 



Later, in February, when an occasional fine 

 day allows of long processions on the walls 

 and the sand-covered shelf of the green- 

 house, I am able to watch the fusing of two 

 groups without personally intervening. All 

 that I have to do is patiently to follow the 

 evolutions of a file on the march. I see it 

 sometimes, after leaving one nest, enter a 

 different one, guided by some fortuitous 



46 



