The Life of the Caterpillar 



I rear the Pieris' caterpillars from the egg 

 upwards on the wall-rocket (Diplo taxis tenui- 

 folia, DEC.), which imbibes strong spices 

 along the edge of the paths and at the foot of 

 the walls. Penned in a large, wire-gauze bell- 

 cage, they accept this provender without de- 

 mur; they nibble it with the same appetite as 

 if it were cabbage; and they end by producing 

 chrysalids and Butterflies. The change of fare 

 causes not the least trouble. 



I am equally successful with other crucifers 

 of a less marked flavour: white mustard 

 (Sinapis incana, LIN.), dyer's woad (Isatis 

 tinctoria, LIN.), wild radish (Raphanus 

 raphanistrum, LIN.), whitlow pepperwort 

 (Lepidium draba, LIN.), hedge-mustard 

 (Sisymbrium officinale, SCOP.). On the other 

 hand, the leaves of the lettuce, the bean, the 

 pea, the corn-salad are obstinately refused. 

 Let us be content with what we have seen : 

 the fare has been sufficiently varied to show 

 us that the Cabbage-caterpillar feeds exclu- 

 sively on a large number of crucifers, perhaps 

 even on all. 



As these experiments are made in the en- 

 closure of a bell-cage, one might imagine that 

 captivity impels the flock to feed, in the 

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