The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-01-03
SOME SECRETS OF WINTER.
How the Observing May Discover the
Hidden Life of Nature.
w York Post.

c. w. Beebe, in New York Post.
Now that winter has reached us, and the
earth is like stone, with the trees posts
of gray steel, wild life is at it's lowest ebb.
Eut because the hosts of insects and sum-
mer birds have disappeared, let us not sup
pose for an instant that We need cease our
nature walks until the warmth of return
ing spring fills the air with the hum and
song of active creatures.
To say nothing of the occasional squirrel,
the many rabbits, and some mice which
write their every motion on the ~tell-tale
snow, one passes by many nests whose prOx-
unity was unsupported during the summer.
Every walk we take throughout the winter
should bring a surprise.
Is IL insects for which you seek? Think
of the thousands upon thousands of eggs
and pupae which are hidden in every grove;
what catacombs of bug mummies yonder
decayed log conceals-mummies whose rsur-
rection shall be brought about only by the
alchemy of springs thawing sunbeams. Or,
why not act the part of creator yourself?
II we can never hope to really find the
secret OF LIES origin, and since spontaneous
generation has passed from our philosophy,
We can at least simulate all of this. A
handkerchief full of mould or dead wood,
placed for a few days in a large white dish,
will repay many times the trouble of bring
ing 1t 10 the warmth of our room. Such
strange wee creatures awaken to life; a
tiny universe e~volVes-both animal and
plant.
Cocoons are another never-ending source
of delight. If you think there are no un-
solved problems of the commonest insect
life about US, say why 1t is that the moths
and millers pass the winter wrapped I'm
swaddling clothes of densest texture, roll
upon roll OF silken cOverlets; while all Of
our delicate butterflies hang naked, sus-
pended only by a single loop of silk, ex-
posed TO the cold of every northern gale!
Why do the caterpillars of our giant moths
the mythologically named Ceropia. Poly
phemuS, Luna, and ometheus-show such
individuality in the position which they
choose for their temporary shrOudS? Pro-
lection and concealment are the watch
words held TO In each case, but how diff
ferently they are achieved!
CerOpia-that beauty whose wings, full
six inches across. will flap gracefully
through the twilights-weaves
about himself a half oval mound. along
some stem or tree trunk. and becomes a
mere excrescence-the veriest unedible thing
a bird may spy. POlyphemus wraps miles
of beautiful silk about his green worm
form. on the outsid- chow, we can only
leaves he can reach. This, of course, before
the froSts come. but when the leaves at
last shrivel. loosen, and their petioles break,
ii is merely a larger brown nut than usual
that falls TO the ground, the kernel OF which
will sprout next June and blossom into the
big moth OF delicate fawn tlnts. feathery
horned. with those strange isinglass win
dows in his hind wings.
Luna-the weird, beautiful mOOn-moth
whose pale green hues and long graceful
Streamers make us realize how much beau
~ we miss III we neglect the night life of
summer-sonietimes falls TO the ground. or
again the cocoon remains in the tree or
bush where il was spun.
But Promethus. the smallest of the quar-
tet, has a way all his own. The elongated
cocoon, looking like a silken finger, is woven
about a leaf of some sassafras. Even the
long stem OF the leaf is silk-girdled, and a
strong band is looped about the twig TO
which the leaf is attached. Here he hangs
when all the leaves fall, the plaything of
every breeze, attracting the attention of
all the hungry birds. But little does Pro-
metheus care. Sparrows may hover about
him and peck In vain, chickadees NAV
clutch the dangling finger and pound with
all their tiny might. Prometheus is
bound" indeed. and merely swings the
faster, up and down. from side to side.