TAILORS 193 



An allied species, Pseudodoxia limulus, makes a 

 case of minute fragments of moss, lichen, and grains 

 of sand. The caterpillar feeds upon the mosses 

 and lichens that grow on rocks and trees in the 

 island of Ceylon, and the materials of which the 

 case is composed give it a doubly protective character 

 since they cause it to assimilate with the surround- 

 ings. The lower end of the case spreads out into 

 a shield-like hood which quite hides that part of 

 the caterpillar that comes outside for the purpose 

 of feeding. The hood serves also to close the 

 mouth of the case whilst the insect is in the chrysalis 

 stage, for before undergoing the change the full- 

 grown caterpillar moors its case to the rock or tree, 

 and folding down the edges of the hood as though 

 it were the flap of an envelope, secures it in position 

 with silk threads. 



Bates mentions a caterpillar (Saccophora) he met 

 with on the Amazons which has this tailoring habit, 

 but on a much larger scale than those we have been 

 considering. The caterpillar feeds upon various 

 species of Melastomacese, and constructs cases by 

 selecting suitable-sized leaves of its food-plant and 

 converting them into tubes by rolling the edges 

 one in the other and securing them with silk. They 

 make the interior comfortable ^by lining it with a 

 thick web of silk. The case inhabited by a full- 

 grown caterpillar is two inches long, and as the 

 weight is too great to be constantly supported by 

 the insect, when it moves to a new leaf with a view 

 to eating it, the case is attached by a few threads 



13 



