The Life of the Caterpillar 



tory, that famous pebbly acre with its wealth 

 of insect life, I find the Psyche who is to fur- 

 nish me with my most circumstantial and de- 

 tailed records. 1 He is at this period in the 

 torpor of the approaching metamorphosis. As 

 we can ask him nothing else for the moment, 

 let us look into the construction and composi- 

 tion of his faggot. 



It is a not irregular structure, spindle- 

 shaped and about an inch and a half long. 

 The pieces that compose it are fixed in front 

 and free at the back, are arranged anyhow 

 and would form a rather ineffective shelter 

 against the sun and rain if the recluse had no 

 other protection than his thatched roof. 



The word thatch is suggested to my mind 

 by a summary inspection of what I see, but it 

 is not an exact expression in this case. On the 

 contrary, graminaceous straws are rare, to the 

 great advantage of the future family, which, 

 as we shall learn presently, would find nothing 

 to suit them in jointed planks. What pre- 

 dominates is remnants of very small stalks, 

 light, soft and rich in pith, such as are pos- 

 sessed by various Chicoriacese. I recognize in 



^Psyche unicolor, HUFN. ; P. graminella, SCHIFFER- 

 MULLER. Author's Note. 



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