An Insect Virus 



ner of life subjects him to prolonged contact 

 with his own ordure. . 



Now consider the Hedgehog Caterpillar. 

 ~"_ imleifl, de"!JplLB Ills herce and 



hirsute aspect? Because he lives in isolation " 

 and is always on the move. His mane, apt 

 FtTough it be to collect and retain irritant part- 



^icles. will never give us the itch, for the 

 simple reason that the caterpillar does not lie 



JX^jMp^&crfQpn^ Distributeaallover trie 

 fields andfaf from numerous, owing to the 

 caterpillar's solitary habits, the droppings, 

 though poisonous, cannot transfer their pro- 

 perties to a fleece which does not come into 

 contact with them. If the Hedgehog lived 

 in a community, in a nest serving as a cess- 

 pit, he would be the foremost of our stinging 

 caterpillars. 



At first sight, the barrack-rooms of the 

 Silkworm-nurseries seem to fulfil the condi- 

 tions necessary to the surface venom of the 

 worms. Each change of litter results in the 

 removal of basketfuls of droppings from the 

 trays. Over this heaped-up ordure the Silk- 

 worms swarm. How is it that they do not 

 acquire the poisonous properties of their own 

 excrement ? 



175 



