294 



SHARP EYES 



marked difference in the color of their diminutive cases. 

 Some were pure white, others were buff-colored ; some 

 were bright blue, others variously tinted ; and one was 

 red, white, and blue. This little individual 

 appealed to my patriotic sentiment, and I 

 took him to the window to get a closer look 

 at his domicile. Until that moment it had 

 not occurred to me to examine the material 

 of their tiny baskets. I went back to the 

 box. I had previously noticed a mottled 

 appearance in its interior, but it had not es- 

 pecially interested me. It now became a 

 matter of more significance. 



The box was made of common straw 

 board covered with white paper, and at its 

 upper edge, inside, were attached two loose 

 pieces of blue paper, which formerly had 

 covered the articles packed within can- 

 dles, I believe. The white paper had 

 been worn through in spots by the 

 myriad pairs of little teeth, and with 

 the bits of fibre thus obtained, and 

 by the aid of the silk web, of which 

 the caterpillars seemed to have an 

 inexhaustible supply, a countless 

 number of baskets had been made. 

 The mottled effect of the interior of 

 the box was caused by the yellow 

 straw board appearing in spots where 

 the covering paper had been gnawed away. 

 This yellow board had again been utilized by several of 

 the caterpillar babies, who preferred more highly col- 

 ored homes, and the blue paper was riddled with holes 



