286 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



than the fat, awkward, shapeless grub which has been glorified 

 with such a name. 



One of our commonest moths makes a reaUy beautiful pensile 

 nest, though it is hardly appreciated as it should be. I allude to 

 the weU-known Tigeb Moth {Arctia eaja), whose scarlet, white, 

 and brown robes are so familiar to every one who cares for 

 insects, or who happens to possess or take an interest in a 

 garden. 



In two of its stages the insect is very common. In the larval 

 condition it is popularly known as the Woolly Bear, in con- 

 sequence of the coating of long bristle-Uke hairs with which its 

 body is profusely covered, and which project like the quills of a 

 porcupine, or the spines of a hedgehog, whenever the creature 

 roUs itself up, a movement which it always makes when alarmed. 

 So elastic are the hairs, that the caterpillar may be thrown from 

 a considerable height without suffering any injury, and in all 

 probability their formidable appearance serves to deter foes from 

 meddling with it. 



Certain enemies, however, care nothing for this hairy defence, 

 but swallow the caterpillar without hesitation. Chief among 

 these foes is the cuckoo, which feeds largely on the caterpillar of 

 the Tiger Moth, and in consequence is subject to a very remark- 

 able phenomenon. The interior of the gizzard had long been 

 known to be lined with hair, which was thought to be a natural 

 and ordinary growth peculiar to the species. It was however 

 discovered — I believe by John Hunter — ^that these hairs are 

 those of the Tiger Moth, the points of which have worked them- 

 selves into the coats of the organ in which they were found. 

 Hunter employs this fact as an illustration of the power and 

 peculiar movement of the gizzard. 



Doubts have been thrown upon the accuracy of Hunter's 

 statement ; but the question has been set at rest by two facts. 

 In the first place, cuckoos that have been held in confinement 

 do not possess the hairy lining; and in the second place, the 

 microscope proves that the hairs are those of a catei-pillar, allied 

 at least to the Tiger Moth, if not belonging to the insect itself. 



"When the caterpUlar has ceased feeding, and is about to 

 become a pupa, it ascends some convenient object, and then spins 

 a beautiful cocoon, shaped very much like the grass hammocks 



