28 
A NATURALIST ON THE PROWL. 
Behind this rampart of refuse, of which its brown and 
ragged form seems to be a portion, the little architect lives, 
pushing the work back from day to day as it eats on. 
What shall I say of those caterpillars which have some 
powerful tribe of ants for their patrons and protectors? 
I will pass by them to-day, for I feel assured that the 
history of that alliance belongs rather to the annals of 
the ant. But there is one device yet which I cannot 
pass over, resorted to by the caterpillar of one of our 
most brilliant Blues. I have always ranked the Blues 
among the aristocracy of the butterfly world, and even 
among them the family of Virachola is one of the noblest. 
Brilliant in colour, swift in flight, distinguished in bearing, 
it is the peer of even the Four-tailed Pashas. The birth- 
place of this proud creature is the fruit of the pomegranate. 
In the very heart of the fruit it passes its early life, 
feeding on the forming seeds. For ventilation and sanita- 
tion it makes a hole in the tough rind, and every day 
sweeps out its apartments with a shovel which grows on 
its tail. But in a short time the fruit begins to grow 
black and wither, as its heart is eaten away. Soon it 
would fall to the ground and rot, and its inmates would 
perish miserably. But before this can happen the cater- 
