56 
SOCIAL NESTS. 
Common leaf nests in 
England. 
within, a family of caterpillars live in great 
harmony. A traveller in Mexico was going up 
the mountains, and came 
to the region of oaks, 
and tall majestic trees. 
To his surprise he saw 
innumerable white paper 
bags, as he 1 thought 
them, hanging from the 
branches. He pulled 
one down, and found it 
was a caterpillar’s nest, 
made of silk, and so 
strong that it was with 
some difficulty he tore it open. It was full of 
caterpillars, and contained besides a quantity of 
green leaves, on which they were feeding. 
Another traveller observed these hanging nests, 
and they looked so white and dazzling, he fancied 
they were made of Chinese paper. They were 
however composed of silk, spun by the cater¬ 
pillars, in layers, one within the other; the outer 
layers very thick, and the inner ones exquisitely 
fine and transparent. 
You may suppose that the silk is too good 
to be wasted, and the natives use it for a variety 
of purposes. They make handkerchiefs and 
stockings of it; and besides that, they take the 
