142 NATURE IN A CITY YARD 



and over, and clawing the grass with their 

 hind legs to secure a hold. They were 

 locked in such a hug, face to face, that 

 they endured some ducking with the hose 

 before they broke away, and were so ex- 

 hausted they could hardly fly. 



Could it have been a worker that had 

 followed a drone into our premises to ex- 

 terminate him at the time of the annual 

 massacre ? 



Doubtless we are illogical to take such 

 displeasure at humble creatures in their 

 larval state, while we joy so greatly in their 

 completed form ; but so long as flowers 

 and foliage are fairer than grubs, it will be 

 so. Though I wage war on caterpillars 

 that I find consuming our floral pets, I 

 confess that now and then I remit the 

 penalty in the case of some big and well- 

 marked fellow, for the promise he has in 

 him of being a handsome butterfly. I toss 

 him over the fence, because our neighbors 

 don't care as much for flowers as we do. 

 Odd creatures, some of these larvae ! The 

 limacodida that I found under maples in 

 Connecticut and oaks in Georgia is a flat, 



