138 LEAF-ROLLERS. 



leaves on which they feed, and take up their habita- 

 tion within. 



There are many kinds of leaf-rollers, each employ- 

 ing a different mode of rolling the leaf, but in all 

 cases the leaf is held in position by the silken 

 threads spun by the caterpillar. 



Some use three or four leaves to make one habi- 

 tation, by binding them together by their edges. 

 Some take a single leaf, and, fastening silken cords 

 to its edgesi-gradually contract them, until the edges 

 are brought together and there held. Some, not so 

 ambitious in their tastes, content themselves with a 

 portion of a leaf, snipping out the parts that they 

 require and rolling it round. 



The insect before us, however, requires an entire 

 leaf for its habitation, and there lies in tolerable 

 security from enemies. There are plenty of birds 

 about the trees, and they know well enough that 

 within the circled leaves little caterpillars reside. 

 But they do not find that they can always make a 

 meai on the caterpillars, and for the following 

 reason. 



The curled leaf is like a tube open on both ends, 

 the caterpillar lying snugly in the interior. So, 

 when the bird puts its beak into one end of the tube, 

 the caterpillar tumbles out at the other, and lets 

 itself drop to the distance of some feet, supporting 

 itself by a silken thread that it spins. 



The bird finds that its prey has escaped, and not 



