302 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



insect which is common in many parts of the West Indies, in sev- 

 eral places being so plentiful that the sight of its long pendent 

 domiciles is any thing but pleasant to the proprietor of a garden. 



Out of five species of insects belonging to this singular genus, 

 the present has been selected, because, on the whole, its habitation 

 is more remarkable than that of any other species. Some of 

 them make their nest in a much stiffer form than is depicted in 

 the engraving, takirfg pieces of slender twigs and forming them 

 into hollow cylinders, the twigs being laid parallel to each other, 

 very much like the rods in the old Roman fasces, which were 

 borne by the lictors before the consuls. So close indeed is the 

 resemblance, that by some writers the insects have been called 

 Lictor Moths. 



The reader will observe that in the illustration the nest is 

 shown as depending from the caterpillar, part of which protrudes 

 from its mouth and the other part is hidden. This attitude is 

 given because it is that in which the insect is generally seen. 

 While young the caterpillar is so strong, and the house is so 

 light, that it can carry the tail nearly upright. 



Scraps of wood mixed with fragments of leaves are the materi- 

 als which are used, and they are bound together very firmly by 

 the silken threads with which so many caterpillars are endowed, 

 whether they belong to the butterflies or moths. There is a tol- 

 erable degree of elasticity about it, especially at the mouth, which 

 is slightly expanded so as to assume an irregular funnel-like 

 shape, and can be drawn together at will by means of the silken 

 threads attached to its circumference. The caterpillar has thus 

 two means of guarding itself from attacks. If it is still clinging 

 to a branch, it can retreat into the house and press the mouth so 

 firmly against the branch that it is closed effectively, just as a 

 limpet shelters its soft body by pressing the top of the shell 

 against the rock. Or, if detached, it can pull the lips together, 

 and thus shut itself up in its strange house as completely as a box 

 tortoise in its shell. 



Not only does the creature reside in this nest during its larval 

 condition, but also passes the pupal stage in it, and sometimes the 

 whole of its life. As soon as it ceases from feeding, and is about 

 to become a pupa, it retires far into its cell, shuts up the mouth, 

 throws off its last caterpillar skin, and there remains until the 

 larva has become a perfect insect. Should the moth be of the 

 male sex, it creeps out of the domicile and speedily takes to wing, 



