NATURE'S CALENDAR 



January i8 



ing in large numbers on the surface of the 

 snow, giving rise to stories of showers of 

 worms; and cases are recorded where 

 grubs have been frozen solid, so that you 

 might break them in two, like icicles, and 

 yet were restored by thawing — not the 

 broken ones, of course, but those left to 

 nature's restoration. It must be added, 

 however, that careful entomologists doubt 

 these statements somewhat, and fresh and 

 very cautious experiments are desirable. 



"Many caterpillars which hibernate do 

 so immediately after emerging from the 

 egg, and before having made the first 

 molt. The great majority, however, hi- 

 bernate after having passed one or more 

 molts. With the approach of spring they 

 renew their feeding upon the first reap- 

 pearance of the foliage of their proper 

 food-plant, or are transformed into chrys- 

 alids and presently emerge as perfect in- 

 sects." So says Mr. Holland. 



Among the higher insects, especially 

 the beetles, moths, and butterflies, the 

 chrysalid is the form that most usually 

 carries the species through the inactive 

 season of the year, the clothes-moth fur- 

 nishing a very familiar instance. 



Some lie in the ground or beneath rub- 

 bish, furnishing an argument for tidiness 

 about our houses and gardens, and late 

 and early cultivation of the soil, in order 

 to discourage and destroy the propagation 

 of injurious and annoying pests. The 

 tiger beetles seem to have the unusual 



January 19 



