By using these and several of the pro-legs
immediately before them, the caterpillar can cling and erect the
front part of the body so that it can strike from side to side
when disturbed. In the case of caterpillars that have a horn, as
Celeus, or sets of them as Regalis, in this attitude they really
appear quite formidable, and often I have seen them drive away
small birds, while many people flee shrieking.
There are little tubes that carry air to the trachea, as
caterpillars have no lungs and can live with a very small amount
of air.
The skin may be rough, granulated, or soft and fine as silk, and
in almost every instance of exquisite colour: bluish green,
greenish blue, wonderful yellows and from pale to deep wine red,
many species having oblique touches of contrasting colours on the
abdominal rings. Others are marked with small projections of
bright colours from which tufts of hair or bristles may grow. In
some, as Io, these bristles are charged with an irritating acid
that will sting for an hour after coming in contact with the skin,
but does no permanent injury.
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