MOTHS OF THE LIMBERLOST 



green, faintly tinged with white, and yellow in places. 

 On the sides are white obliques, or white, shaded with 

 pink, and at the base of these, a small oval marking. 

 There is a small short horn on the head. But the dis- 

 tinguishing mark is a mass of little white granules, scat- 

 tered all over the caterpillar. It is so peppered with 

 these, that failure to identify it is impossible. 



These caterpillars pupate in the ground. I knew that, 

 but this was before I had learned that the caterpillar 

 worked out a hole in the ground, and the pupa case only 

 touched the earth upon which it lay. So when my 

 Modesta caterpillar ceased crawling, lay quietly, turned 

 dark, shrank one half in length, and finally burst the 

 dead skin, and emerged in a shining dark brown pupa 

 case two inches long, I got in my work. I did well. A 

 spade full of garden soil was thoroughly sifted, baked in 

 the oven to kill parasites and insects, cooled, and put in a 

 box, and the pupa case buried in it. Every time it rained, 

 I opened the box, and moistened the earth. Two months 

 after time for emergence, I dug out the pupa case to find 

 it white with mould. I had no idea what the trouble 

 was, for I had done much work over that case, and the 

 whole winter tended it solicitously. It was one of my 

 earliest attempts, and I never have found another 

 caterpillar, or any eggs, though I often search the poplars 

 for them. 



However, something better happened. I say better, 



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