The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1888-12-08

same position that the OK ana rne
I sheep occupy in relation to man. AL
though partial to seeds and fruits,
birds are not vcgetarians in the broad
sense of the term, and would starve
had they nothing but leaves to devour,
whether the leaves OF the rose or the
cabbage; the caterpillar then comes to
the rescue and forms the intermediary
link. He possesses an appetite OF ex-
traordinary voracity, and, in the course
of his not very long life, eats many
hundred times his weight OF vegeta-
/ bles, and converts them into q
rich and luscious food for the birds.
I 1t may be said, that, in some respects,
at least, the instinct of caterpillars
must be defective, or, knowing that
their plumpness is their danger, they
would eat less. This is no doubt true,
but as it is true also Of sheep and
bulloolSs, 1t can hardly be made the
subject of reproach to the caterpillar.
But, after all, vast as is the number of
caterpillars who go to feed the birds.
1t can not be said that birds are by
any means their chief enemy. Their
great foe and relentless exterminator
is the ichneumon, against whom none
of their cunning devices of conceal
ment avail, but who can discover them
in their inmost lurking places. The
ichneumon varies in size as greatly as
does the caterpillar himself Some Of
them are az long rs wasps, although
with a slender body, no thicker than q
bodkin; some SO tiny that they can
scarce be seen with the naked eye;
but all are alike in their habits.
Watch one, large or small as he set
ties upon leaf. Straightway he be-
gins to hunt up and down with
quick, eager motion, like a dog
quartering u turnip field for part
ridges. Up and down, below and above,
prying into every Granny. he hunts,
hurrying from one leaf to another until
he finds u caterpillar. He wastes no
time with him; he thrusts the long
ovipositor through the skin and places
an egg snugly there. He repeats this
two, three or half dozen times. ac-
cording to his own size and that to
which the caterpillar will grow. His
young ones must be fed when they are
Matched, and it would not do to lay
more than the caterpillar can support.
What the sensations of the caterpillar
are when thus treated no one has so
far attempted to explain. 1t gives a
little vince each time the operation Is
performed. and then pursues its voca-
tion as quietly as il nothing had hap
pened. There can be no little doubt
that it is profoundly discouraged; it
must feel that all its efforts to evade
the foe have been wasted. 1t, doubt
less, knows that ii has received its
death wound; that it will never soar in
the air as a bright-winged butterfly,
but that its chrysalis state will be its
last. 1t speaks well, then, for
the sense of duty of the cater
pillar that it goes doggedly on
as before, eating as largely and
steadily as if nothing had occurred,
and showing no signs of pain or dis
turbance at the birth of foes who soon
begin TO gnaw away in its interior 1t
is to be hoped, indeed, that it suffers
but slightly. The organs of the cater
pillar are simple. 1t is small tube,
and it is probable that its sensibility is
slight; still it is inevitable that il must
suffer more or less; but it goes on until
just as it is about to assume the
chrysalis state, or just after it has
done SO, it dies, and the little ichneu-
mons make their way through the
skin, and after brief repose, fly away
to recommence the deadly work of their
parents. 1t is calculated that fully
eighty per cent of caterpillars are
slain by ichneumons.
The caterpillar is distinguished for
its imperturable good temper; no one
has yet witnessed good stand up fight
between two caterpillars. Even when
browsing in hundreds upon IA leaf, each
caterpillar continues its work of eating,
wholly regardless OF the multitude feed
ing around it-Londop Standard.
THE JUNIORS RIGHT.