THE HONEY MOTH. 501 



where they are not required. I could very easily understand 

 why they should drive their silken tunnels through the combs, 

 or even on their surface, but I never could see any object in 

 the extraordinary excursions in which they continually indulged. 

 The silken tubes ran all over the box, extending to spots far 

 distant from the comb. One of these tubes had actually been 

 made between the lid and the edge of the box, and ran for 

 nearly the whole distance, so that when the box was opened, 

 the tube was torn asunder for nearly the whole of its length, 

 and its inmate was discovered, much to its discomfiture. 



The object of the tubes is evident. The body of the cater- 

 pillar is quite soft, and the only parts that are at all hard are 

 the head and thorax. The aggrieved bees would be sure to 

 destroy the invader of their hives if they could only get at it, 

 but the horny skin defends the one end of the caterpillar, 

 while the other is sheltered in the tube, and the consequence is, 

 that the bees are powerless and often are driven out of their 

 hives by this little Moth. I have often wondered that the 

 bees never seem to think of tearing up the silken tubes and 

 turning the caterpillars out of them. The tubes may resist 

 the sting of the bee, but, although they are tough, they are not 

 so strong that the strong jaws of the bee could not pull them 

 to pieces. 



The caterpillar proceeds in its tube-making in a very sys- 

 tematic way. It thrusts its head out of the end of the tube, 

 and eats the cells and their contents until it cannot protrude 

 itself further without exposing the soft part of its frame. So 

 it sets to work and adds to the tube until it has brought it 

 close to its food, and thus proceeds until it is full-fed, and the 

 time arrives for it to undergo its transformation. The cater- 

 pillar is marvellously active when within its tube, and can 

 run backwards as fast as it can forwards. On the least move- 

 ment near it, the caterpillar takes alarm, and jerks itself 

 backwards into the protecting tube with a movement exactly 

 resembling that of a frightened tortoise drawing its head into 

 its shell. 



A figure of the caterpillar is shown at Fig. a of the Wood- 

 cut LVIII. in the act of forcing its way through the honey- 

 comb. The reader must remember that the silken gallery is 

 of necessity omitted, as otherwise the caterpillar could not be 



