204 



OUR BACKDOOR NEIGHBORS 



ing beside the milkweed in the orchard. The 

 tiny eggs soon hatched and ugly little cater- 

 pillars with black and white stripes appeared. 

 They were voracious little fellows, apparently 

 consuming more than their own bulk of coarse 

 food within a few hours. As the days went by 

 they moulted, or shed their skins, which were 

 getting too tight, and appeared in new suits of 

 larger size. As they grew they improved in 

 appearance, and yellow bands in addition to 

 the black and white became more conspicuous. 

 Although the caterpillars had improved some- 

 what in appearance, they were still any- 

 thing but attractive 

 with their fierce- 

 looking horns and 

 prison stripes. The 

 milkweed suffered 

 seriously as a result 

 of their presence, 

 and was soon almost 

 entirely stripped of 

 its leaves. 



As the youngsters 

 neared maturity the 

 Naturalist took them 

 to his study, where 



As the youngsters neared maturity the Natural- 

 ist took them to his study, where he 

 could observe their final change. 



