The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-07-24


called their transformations.
The butterfly of this celery caterpillar
is commonly called the asterias but
terfiy. 1t is one of the most abundant
of the swallow-tails.
Breeding Cages For Caterpillars.
The way to find the most interest in
butterflies and moths is to rear their
caterpillarS in confinements. To do this
you should keep them where You can
watch them from day to day. For this
purpose you should use some sort of
breeding cage" which is simply
closed vessel in which a caterpillar or
other insect may be kept. so that it will
go through the cycle of its changes
where it may be seen.
A very good sort of breeding cage for
caterpillarS is reproduced in the picture
herewith. 1t consists of a common glass
saucer nearly filled with sand or earth.
Over the top of the globe piece Of
gauze cloth is held in place by rubber
band.
To start your breeding cage first get
your caterpillar and a stem or leaf of
its food plant Place the latter in a
bottle, which is to be set in the earth
in the middle of the fiower-pot saucer.
The bottle is to be full of water to keep
the plant fresh, and a cork or wad Of
cotton is to be stuffed in the mouth of
the bottle to hold the piece of food
plant upright and to prevent the cater
pillar from falling into the water. At
intervals of two or three days the food
plant will need to be renewed, unless
the caterpillar eats it all up, when, Of
course, it should be replaced at once.
After this is done the caterpillar may
be put upon the food and the lantern
globe placed over the whole. The bot
tie should not be so tall that it will
prevent the caterpillar from reaching
the food in case it falls off the leaves
1t is not necessary. however, that
even so simple cage as this be made,
although such a cage has many ad-
vantages. The insect can be easily
watched; the cage is readily cleaned
and there is plenty Of fresh air for the
caterpillar. But boxes with glass tops
may be used instead, as also may COM
mon fruit jars, or for small insects even
glass tumbler or jelly glasses.
The Cabbage Caterpillar.
One of the easiest caterpillars TO OBJ
tain is the common green cabbage
worm. In the summer it is pretty sure
to be found in almost any garden.
When full grown it is about an inch
long and half as thick as a common
lead pencil
If you put half dozen of these cab
DdSc WOIulS III d grass CdH VI SOIlic
other breeding cage, selecting caterpil-
lars which are nearly full grown, you
will be able to see them pass through
the wonderful changes from caterpil-
lar to butterfly. Keep them supplied
with fresh cabbage leaves as long as
they will eat. When they become full
fed in this larval stage of their exist
ence each will fasten itself by the back
end of its body in a little web of silk
which it first spins by means of the
silk glands in its mouth, and then run
loop of silk over its body near the
head end.
The caterpillar, having completed
these preliminaries. will now become
quiet for a time. Probably its body
will shorten a little and before very
long the skin will split open on the
back. Then there will follow more or
less wriggling until the skin is thrown
off and there remains exposed to view
the "chrysals'' This chrysalis is a
very different-looking object from the
larva. 1t has neither legs. nor eyes,
nor jaws. 1t is also different from an
adult butterfly, having neither wings,
nor "feelers," nor tube for sucking the
nectar of flowers.
In summer your one-time caterpillar
will be likely to remain in this quiet
chrysalis state a week or ten days. On
the outside IL is a quiet creature, but
on the inside changes are taking place
with great rapidity. A large part of
the tissues of the caterpillar are being
broken down and then built up into
new tissues. 1t is a strange and Won
derful development. At the end of it
the dainty butterfly is fully formed. so
that when in due time the skin of the
chrystalis cracks open the butterfly