THE MILKWEED CATERPILLAR 135 



hours after it had shed its skin, it went to eating the 

 fresh milkweed leaves. 



THE CHRYSALID 



The following year we had many milkweed cater- 

 pillars in glasses and watched their growth. 



One morning one of our large caterpillars wove a 

 web for a path and went to the top of the glass, 

 which was covered with a perforated paper. Here 

 it remained as if making plans for its change. 

 The middle of the afternoon it underwent agonizing 

 contortions. It threw its head to one side and then 

 to the other, and then drew it in. The "feelers" 

 were working nervously as the body worked. Late 

 in the afternoon it let go its hold on the cover and 

 swung free, being held to the cover by its hind feet, 

 which were fastened in the web it had made. In 

 this position it remained quiet part of the time, its 

 head turned to one side, and part of the time 

 wriggling to get free from its old coat. In the night 

 it changed to a beautiful light green chrysalis. We 

 could see the colored stripes of its coat through the 

 thin cover. The dome-shaped top was narrower in 

 front. The dome was separated from the body of* 

 the chrysalis by a narrow black line, above which was 



