Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1871-07-19
Life Under the Bark.

Taken roughly, all the creatures whicl
are found under tn bark Of trees may b.
divided into two classes-namely, thos
who have resortcd there for shelter during
the cold months Of winter, and those which
feed upon the bark or the substance Of th,
tree itself The former can always be
found under the bark Of old trees. espe
cially oaks and willows The latter, how
ever, are the most prolific in insect life
In many old willows the bark Is slightly
separated from the trunk for many feet
and although 10 external sign be gwen OF
this fact, the hollow sound which Is return
cd when the outside of the tree Is tapped
is a sufficient proof. On carefully remov-
lug one Of these sheets Of bark from the
tree most extraordinary sight is often
presented.
The space between the bark and wood
is vast camp of insect armies, their white
and giittering tents being set so closely
together that there - not "a@', fe- fi"-
gers TIP between them. nder the bark
also flourish certain colonies Of fat white
cryptog;ms, which spread themselves in
ian-hke rays, and almost rival the sIikeu
insect tents iu whiteneSs. Now aud then
comes Il circular tent, through which can
hc seen a quantity Of little yellow globular
objects The character of the silk tells
rs that the nest is certainly that Of a spi-
der and we just pull off little of the
cover to get a better view Of the eggs.
Scarcely has the tip Of the iorccps stretch
ed the sikcu roof than "a simultaneous stir
becomes apparent through the eggs, and
all at once they suddenly start into life
unpacking in some mysterious way the
limbs which had been folded round thei T
glObular bodies, and all running about as
busily and aimlcssly as the inhabitants of
Il disturbed ants nest In fact, the SEEM
ing eggs are not eggs at all, but very young
spiders, which have only Just been hatched
and are waiting for warmer weather before
they make their appearance in the world.
This same space between the bark and
the wood is a favOrlte resort Of many moth
caterpilars Led by instinct, they pro-
ceed TO the tree and climb up the bark,
seeking for some recess in which to pass
their short period of helpless existence
in omparatlvey young trees they content
themselves with the crevices formed by
the rugged and krotty bark, but in old
trees, such a. have been described, they
manage to discover some aperture, through
which they crawl into the large sheltered
space, and there spin their silken home.
Careful inves tigation shows that, however
safe such retreat may be for the insect
while in It's pupal or chrysais condition,
il is little more than a trap for the perfect
insect. For not only are spiders eggs to
be found " under the bark, " but spiders
themselves also take up their residence
tn, re, and find ample subsistence in the
many insects that have found their way
under the bark and can not find their way
out again A short time ala | found, un-
der the bark of an old wilow-tree, the re-
mains Of beetle which had fallen u victim
to a spider Unfortunately the edge of
the chisel came upon it and damaged the
specimen, or | should have cut it out and
preserved it for my museum, as [ never
saw anything more curious. In the first
place, that the insect had been caught by
spider was evident from the fact that it
was bound to the tree by spider web In
the next, it was laid on its back, with the
limbs, jaws, wings, and wing eases sepa-
rated and displayed with as much regular
ity, in spread-eagle fashion, as if it had
been prepared by an entomologist as
specimen Of insect anatomy. Now that
any beetle should have been so treated is
remarkable enough, but it is still more
wonderful when we remember that the in
sect in question is one of the predacious
beetles, and measures three-quarters of an
inch in length so that it appears to be
much more likely to eat the spider than to
allow itself to be eaten.
OF all the insects which hibernate in
the crevices of the bark, by far the greater
number seem to be the chrysalides of va
rious moths, which, as a rule, hide them
selves so well that they need practiced
eye to see them, and, even though the
greatest care be taken, are often acciden-
tally destroyed. 1t is extremely provoking
after selecting an apparently safe spot for
the chise, to see white, creamy fluid run
along the blade. and then to know that the
tool has passed through the body of
chrysalis which has hidden itself so clev-
erly as to escape observation. The most
successful of these hiders is the puss moth,