136 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[June 1, 1865. 



A BROOD OF CATEEPILLARS. 



THE summer of 1857 was one of the hottest I 

 ever remember, and therefore one that ought to 

 have seen great things accomplished in the search 

 for truth among the lower rauks of animals. I am 

 now going to give an account of some roadside 

 inhabitants which fell in the way of ray sister in tliat 

 year— not that they were of any peculiar kind, but 

 some of the things we observed in their habits were 

 very interesting, and will show what a large share 

 of that wonderful faculty, instinct— so profound 

 in its depths even in the lowest beings— has been 

 besto\ved upon creatures hokliug this rank in the 

 scale of life. 



It was on the 5th of June that, when passing 

 along the road on the moors close to the watering- 

 place of Clevedon, in the Bristol Channel, my sister 

 saw a white nest in the sloe bushes. On examining 

 it, she found it was full of tiny little black larva3, 

 about as long as a linger-nail,* apparently not long 

 out of the eggs, but which had safely lioused them- 

 selves, even at this tender age, within the precincts 

 of a snug home. Gently transferring the whole to 

 her handkerchief, that universal receptacle for 

 sundry sticks, stones, and creatures, when in the 

 possession of a naturalist of any type, she conveyed it 

 home in safety. There she prepared for her charge a 

 large deal box about 21 inches square, fitted -nath a 

 perforated zinc top to admit aii- and light. As the 

 days passed by, the little creatures grew marvel- 

 lously big creatures, and their appetites were even 

 more marvellous. My sister being unable to go out 

 to obtain food for them, I used to undertake that 



* The moth is the smaU Eggar {Eriogastei- lancstris), one 

 of the Bombycidse, or silk-sphining: moths. It is a sort of 

 (lirigy brown, with some white spots ou the wings, and a good 

 deal of soft fur about the head. 



business every morning, bringing in arm-loads of 

 sloe busli, as much as I could carry ; but in a short 

 space of time not a vestige of it remained but the 

 bare dry wood of the branches, and often I had to 

 go out again and again to obtain more. Those 

 voracious little creatures never would be satisfied I 

 thought, and sometimes I inwardly wished they had 

 remained on the moors — a wish never, however, 

 breathed to my sister. 1 think they would have 

 eaten up ourselves in ten minutes' time if we had 

 only been made of sloe bushes. The moment the 

 box was opened, dozens of little black heads were 

 over the sides, and clambering on the branches 

 almost before they could be put in. They were like 

 a lot of hungry schoolboys. In the clamour and 

 confusion that prevailed when the box was opened, 

 it was no wonder if two or three of the naughty little 

 creatures made a clandestine escape. This occurred 

 several times, and my sister was surprised soon 

 afterwards, when seated in the drawing-room, to dis- 

 cover the long body of one of her friends compla- 

 cently hanging to the fringe of her shawl, or by a 

 tickling sensation to feel it quietly creepmg up her 

 wrist. Then the truant was speedily conveyed back 

 to its home, from whence it had strayed, with sundiy 

 reprimands and reproofs. 



They clung on to the edge of tlie leaf by their 

 numerous legs, and commenced eating, from the top 

 of the leaf, nibbling it straight downwards as far as 

 they could reach, then raising their heads again to the 

 top, they again nibbled downwards, thus forming a 

 curve in the edge of the leaf. Their habits of taking 

 their food and the times of their meals were as 

 regular as those of the most perfect epicure. They 

 filed out of the nest one at a time, crowding on the 

 heels of one another at their meal-liour, and took up 

 their station on the branches, each scrambling for a 

 corner at the repast. As soon as all had finished, as 

 if a signal-bell had been rung, with one consent they 

 marched back into the nest for sleep and digestion. 

 There were three or four holes in the silken web, 

 just large enough to admit one Caterpillar at a tame. 

 These holes were beautifully finished at the edges, 

 no raw work or roughness could be detected; it was 

 the most beautiful selvidge I ever saw. When all 

 went into the nest after eating, they left one lying 

 outside each hole as a sentinel to keep guard ; thus 

 showing their perfect understanding of danger and 

 its consequent troubles. We tried experiments with 

 them, by tapping gently on the nest, or moving a bit 

 of the branch on which it lay, and immediately the 

 watchful sentinel made his signal, and CHit came 

 numbers of the little people from the city, — the sol- 

 diers of the community, I suppose. Yv^hen they 

 found all was quiet, and that it was a false alarm, 

 they soon retreated again to their slumbers. If we 

 broke away a httle bit of the nest, the masons were 

 immediately set on to repair the breach, and the in- 



