88 
NATURE’S CRAFTSMEN 
silk, will cast his caterpillar skin and turn into a 
chrysalis. Do you know the difference between 
a cocoon and a chrysalis? Uncle John explained 
it very simply: a cocoon is woven of silk, a chrys¬ 
alis is a hard little case. The time the caterpillar 
remains in the pupa state varies anywhere from 
two days to two years, all depending on the spe¬ 
cies. Many kinds of butterflies winter in the 
chrysalis.” 
“ Is there any easy way of distinguishing moth 
and butterfly caterpillars? ” Alice wanted to 
know. 
“Not absolutely. Moth caterpillars are nearly 
always fuzzy; butterfly caterpillars are smooth 
and naked. But there are some exceptions. 
Uncle John and I were caterpillar hunting this 
morning. See, here are some others that I 
found,” and Tommy led the way to another col¬ 
lection of jars. “ This black spiny-covered speci¬ 
men is an exception to the rule just mentioned; 
for it is the offspring of the Mourning Cloak but¬ 
terfly. You all know her. She is purplish 
brown, with wings bordered by yellow, brown, 
and blue. She is the first butterfly to be seen in 
J the springtime, because she hibernates like the 
bears and woodchucks do. But she is a light 
sleeper, and in the south she often comes out and 
sails around during specially mild days in mid¬ 
winter. 
