196 



NATURE-STUDY 



clasping. Watch the cateq^illar holding on to the edge of 

 the leaf. 



Cabbage caterpillars, all caterpillars for that matter, are 

 very voracious. Their capacity can be judged by the havoc 



a few can effect in a 

 head of cabbage in 

 the garden. 



The cabbage cat- 

 erpillar moults sev- 

 eral times before 

 reaching full size, 

 and at the final 

 moult it seeks a se- 

 cluded and dry spot, 

 under the clapboard- 

 ing or coping of a 

 house, or under a 

 board or leaf. It 

 first fastens itself to 

 the sheltering sup- 

 port by a tuft of silk 

 at the tail, and also 

 makes a sling of silk 

 around the waist. 

 Then a remarkable thing takes place. The old caterpillar 

 coat sphts and is cast off. But the insect no longer looks 

 Uke a caterpillar. It is now a pointed, angular case, 

 called a chrysalis. It remains in this form in a quiescent 

 condition for several weeks, in the summer. In the fall of 

 the year it may continue in this condition longer, and pass 

 the winter as a chrysalis. It is apparently dead or asleep. 



Fig. 55. Eggs and Young Caterpillar of Cabbage Butterfly. 



(Photomicrogrnph.) 



