NATURAL HISTORY. 



Family, Arctiidse. (Gr. "Ap/crof, a Bear; in allusion to the popular 

 name of the larva.) 



AKCTIA. 



Caja (Lat. proper name), the Tiger moth 



This common but beautiful rnoth is found in the beginning 

 of autumn. It runs on the ground with such swiftness as to be 

 often mistaken for a mouse. * The larva is popularly called 

 " the woolly bear." It is rather large, and is surrounded with 

 tufts of long elastic hairs of a reddish brown colour, which serve 

 as a defence against many enemies. "When disturbed, it rolls 

 itself round, just as a hedgehog does, and if on a branch, suffers 

 itself to fall to the ground, when the long hairy covering de- 

 fends it from being injured by the fall. When the caterpillar is 

 about to change into a pupa, it spins a kind of hammock, and 

 lies there until it comes forth as a moth. 



* T hnvc more than once seen a kitten chasing a tiper-moth among the flowers in 

 a garden, evi.Iently deceived by Us resemblance to a mouse. 



