Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-15

fairylike sWaddling clothes which they
have woven themselves.
Silk thread for stitching their gar
mentS together has always been useu;
and it Is the strongest and pureSt OF
silk at that. The ants were the FIRST 70
use the shuttle idea. When they made up
their minds to sew two leaves together
| to form a shelter for their mtlkmaids ana
cattle, they looked about for something
which would hold the edges OF the leaves
| together. 1t occurred to them, most
! likely, that their younger children all
spun the finest silk threads when they
were making their silk comforts before
interning as children. Several ants are
dispatched to the nursery while others
search for the leaves well located near
| a herd of aphids. The leaves are never
severed from the stem. Groups OF ants
| hold the edges of the two leaves TO-
gether and the assistants soon appear,
! each with an infant in her mouth:
They hold a youngster to the edge OF
the leaf and with slight squeeze urge
| her to part with bit OF her SILK. Sne
is woven back and forth as the tiny
thread of silk is spun. Only a smaL
amount Is taken from each wee shuttle,
then she Is returned to the nursery.
Insect children have the same hapit
of outgrowing their clothes as our chill
QIEIl 1ldNG. 4HCy dbOSAAA W SAAS
of new garments themselves, which
must be a great relief to their parents.
First of all, new outfit Is grown
right under the old one. and when the
old suit is too snug, the owner stops
! eating for q day or two and the OLD
suit splits down the back. The newly
clad one wriggles out or steps OUT OF
the old suit.
The bagworm baby. upon leaving her
comfortable home, finds that thorns
have a way of hurting her tender
"tummy." She finds that going about
unclad Just will not do. She eats many
leaves and soon digestS them into won-
derful silk. Then she begins making
her silk-lined coat. Size ships of a bit
of leaf and spreads IL with liquid SILK,
adds a bit of bark and gradually has
woven a piece of material the length
of her body. She sews the edges TO-
gether and turns a Somersault into the
girdle. With few twists the garment
settles into position and she adds to
the front edge, pushing the coat down
as she grows more buxum. Should dam
ger appear she pulls her head back into
the open neck She Strolls over the
tree with ease Her tender body is pro-
tected from sharp thorns and eager
enemies.
Eve must have seen a caterpillar
wrap herself up in leaf and walk away
clothed properly. She then adapted the
IDEA to her own use. We have as yet
invented few things that the insects
have not been using for millions OF
years.
Leather jackets we're worn long ago
by the beetle family. When the infant
saw the light of day, his eggshell had
leather cap. He just added to 1t, ana,
as it grew too tight, ne removed the
lining and put it on the outside
There are grubs which go about In
the hottest weather with furS about the
necks. The heir of the Apollo butterfly
wears a rain coat which he waterproofs
with wax Another infant, the offspring
of Mrs. Bembex Wasp, makes one OF
sand and silk.
The clothes-moth infant has coat
of many colors She moves over the
garment she is using for her material
and walks about selecting bits here and
there.
Some insect children crawl into old.
discarded garments of their friends and
relatives But as rule, insects are
rather "snooty" and will not have
coat they have not made for them
selves.
There are insects that pile the skins
of their victims on their backs to hide
themselves from their enemies while
they stroll among their victims in
search of prey.
For color schemes. insects are artists.
Jewels are not so lovely as the shades
and color combinations these wonderful
little creatures achieve.
Copyright, 1919