' They were said to eat ash, apple
pear, willow, plum, cherry, poplar and many other leaves, but mine
liked lilac, and there was a supply in reach of the door, so they
undoubtedly were lilac caterpillars, for they had nothing else to
eat.
The little fellows were pronouncedly yellow. The black head with
a grey stripe joined the thorax with a yellow band. The body was
yellow with black rings, the anal parts black, the legs pale
greyish yellow. They made their first moult on the tenth day and
when ready to eat again they were stronger yellow than before,
with many touches of black. They moulted four times, each
producing slight changes until the third, when the body took on a
greenish tinge, delicate and frosty in appearance. The heads were
yellow with touches of black, and the anal shield even stronger
yellow, with black. At the last moult there came a touch of red on
the thorax, and of deep blue on the latter part of the body.
In spinning they gummed over the upper surface of a leaf and,
covering it with silk, drew it together so that nothing could be
seen of the work inside.
Pages:
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239