THE DARK DAYS OF INSECT LIFE 21 



of eggs and pupae which are hidden in every 

 grove; what catacombs of bug mummies yonder 

 log conceals, — mummies whose resurrection will 

 be brought about by the alchemy of thawing sun- 

 beams. Follow out the suggestion hinted at above 

 and place a handkerchief full of frozen mould or 

 decayed wood in a white dish, and the tiny uni- 

 verse which will gradually unfold before you will 

 provide many hours of interest. But remember 

 your responsibilities in so doing, and do not let 

 the tiny plant germs languish and die for want 

 of water, or the feeble, newly-hatched insects 

 perish from cold or lack a bit of scraped meat. 



Cocoons are another never-ending source of 

 delight. If you think that there are no unsolved 

 problems of the commonest insect life around us, 

 say why it is that the moths and millers pass the 

 winter wrapped in swaddling clothes of densest 

 textures, roll upon roll of silken coverlets ; while 

 our delicate butterflies hang uncovered, suspended 

 only by a single loop of silk, exposed to the cold 

 blast of every northern gale ? Why do the cater- 

 pillars of our giant moths — the mythologically 

 named Cecropia, Polyphemus, Luna, and Prome- 

 theus — show such individuality in the position 

 which they choose for their temporary shrouds? 

 Protection and concealment are the watchwords 

 held to in each case, but how differently they are 

 achieved ! 



Cecropia — that beauty whose wings, fully six 



