244 LIFE AND HER CHILDREN. 
back when at rest, while a butterfly folds them up, 
back to back against each other, and though some 
moths copy the butterflies in this, they are not many. 
Again, most butterflies have their antennae thick 
at the tip, while those of moths are more generally 
fine at the end, and thicker in the middle, and are 
often beautifully feathered, but this rule also is not 
without exceptions. Again, the wings of moths are 
fastened together by a kind of hook, which makes 
them work much more strongly, and not with the 
irregular movement which we find in butterflies ; 
lastly, the shoulders of moths are broader than 
those of most butterflies, and less distinctly divided 
by a waist from the abdomen. By some of these 
characters, as well as in many cases by their noc- 
turnal habits, moths may be generally known, al- 
though it must be remembered that they are such 
near relations to the butterflies, that no clear line can 
be drawn between the tw r o. 
But in their habits and devices, the moths far 
outstrip the butterflies. It is their caterpillars which 
among the sphinx moths remain motionless for 
hours on twigs with the head bent down, so as 
to look like part of the bush ; thus escaping the 
notice of the birds, which would eat them, and of the 
ichheumon-flies which would lay their eggs on their 
bodies. And these same caterpillars, when the time 
of their rest comes, burrow into the ground, and line 
their home \vith varnished silk, so that no water can 
creep in. Here, safe and sound from wet and cold, 
they cast off their skin for the last time, and lie as 
pupae during the long winter, till the warmth of June 
wakes them into moth life. 
