The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-02-04

Many Of the worm-like creatures who
eat the leaves of trees and plants are
not worms, but the children of insects.
You see, 1t is this way. The wise pro-
fessors who study the living forms of
nature have decided that the easiest
way to learn about things is to put the
animals in one group and the plants in
another, and then to divide and re-
divide these into smaller groups until
forms with similar characteristics are
claSsed together.
The worms are not classed with the
insects, for they never become beauti-
full winged creatures as do the cater
pillars of the moths and butterflies the
maggOts of the flies, and the grubs Of
the beetles.
To tell a caterpillar from other insect
children, and from its more distant
relatives, the true worms may at first
seem difficult, but when you find
crawler entirely unknown to you, notice
If il has three pairs of claw feet near
its head and some big elephant-like
legs called prOiegs upon its body. If it
has you may be quite certain that it is
the young of a moth or a butterfly.
or course, II you were 10 ask one of
the wise professors how to know a
caterpillar. he might give you Il differ
ent method Of Identifying it, but I think
you will find my way a very good one
TO begin with; but remember that a
caterpillar never has legs on each joint
of its body, like the centipede, and that
ii is never entirely without legs as is
the anglewOrm, although the slug cater
pillars have very poor excuses for feet
I can tell you.
Then the sO-CaIIed measuring worm
boasts of but two pairs of prOlegs and
must always travel by looping of the
7fC- NH
worm, without even a pair of these legs
gets on by walking with it's six claw
feet, and not only does it do this sue
Cessfully, but in addition it carries its
little bag of a house wherever it goes.
Now let us examine a caterpillar, that
Of the big CecrOpia moth, for instance
and see what it is like. We find a head
covered by a hard, shiny skin, and back
CT this thirteen joints that contract and
expand is the young insect walks, and
believe that it is the wiggley motion
Of these joints that makes US dislike
caterpillars. On the first three joints
or segments are the true feet. six in
number; then on the sixth, seventh
eighth, ninth and thirteenth joints
there are heshy legs shaped much as
are the feet of elephants. These help
q caterpillar when il crawls about. and
when 1t eats or rests they hold its body
In position by Clasping a twig for sup
y
the legs, we find a row of circular holes
and it is by means of these that the
caterDillarS breathe. The CecOpia has
also rows of brightly cOlored knobs.
which are supposed to brighten it's enc
mics, as brilliant cOlOrs in nature fire.
quently indicate danger. Many cater
pillars are thus protected. while others
like those of the tUTnUs swanOWtaiI. so
closely resemble the cOlOrs Of the leaves
on which they feed that il is hard work
TO find them. A few have concealed
weapons for defense. and use them in
such touch me if you dare manner
that one is glad to retreat until quite
certain that the annoyed crawler is
harmless.
As a rule, caterpillars are not poison
GUS Their mouth parts are small and
so arranged that they can take but a
wee bite at a time. They have no poi
son sting like the spiders, and only
few Of them are clothed with hairs or
br-stleS, which may cause a painful
itching if they pierce the skin. The To
and the slug cateTpillars are some of
the insects that should be carefully
handled, because of these singing
hairs, but the yellow and black woody
crawlers, commonly called caterpillars,
are perfectly harmless.
On the under lip of many caterDiIlars
there is little horny tube, a spinneret,
and from this fine silk threads can be
drawn when the caterpillar needs them.
These CateTpillaTS make many wonder
ful things with this silk. For instance.
some build suspension bridges from
limb to limb. so that they can travel
more easily about the tree: others
weave carpets and regular spring mat
tresses to rest upon. while a few con-
struct thick-walled houses, called CO.
coons, and from some of these cocoOns
we get silk for our clothes
a caterpillar unless you look for them
through magnifying glass. They are
round raised places above the Jaws on