Evening star., 1935-08-26

were surrounded with black spikes, as
well as the yellow ones on the body.
I'VE carried the beautiful creature
home. We kept it in basin, and sew
eral times it wandered into the woods
Thanks to its size, and the brightness of
its colors, we contriVed to retrieve it. We
made daily trips 70 obtain some leaves
from the elder bush, and we were worried
for fear we would not have enough to
continue feeding it, when after approx
mately three weeks it suddenly refused
food.
"We continued observing it and were
surprised TO find it oneAmorning with a
new skin; the colors were as beautiful
as before, but interverted; it is so long
ago that We don't remember exactly
just what the changes were. From then
on it did not eat and soon made its
cocoon on bough we had provided.
THE cocoon was as large as a hens
egg. We took it with us to the city and
kept it hanging on a wall near window.
1t remained there many months; we
thought it was dead, when, one evening
in March, it began showing signs of life:
the bough was rocking on its string, and
ominouS cracking sounds were coming
AlOhA Vic OONOOll. al IlIC
head of moth, or butterfly, emerged.
1t took, as we remember, more than "A
hours for the whole of the creatures
body to disentangle itself. The wings
were fully six inches across, with beauti-
full colors and spots, mostly red, like
velvet.
1T never flew. but crawled all over
the furniture and walls, leaving every
where hundreds of yellow eggs the size
of grain Of rice.
I'VE meant to let it die its natural
death, and then preserve it in some way,
but, unfortunately, we had a cat, and the
first time we forget to close the door OF
the room where the butterfly dwelt the
cat went in and it was the end of the
gorgeous creature; all that was left
were pieces Of the wings scattered on
the floor"
So there, folks, you have three ways
of treating worm, and the flame treat
ment wins.
Yet for any one who has the patience,
and the desire, these creatures are
among the most interesting of all forms
of life.
We will never forget the visit we paid
some years ago to an old lady whose son
was a Government scientist.
She led the way into back room,
where there were many tall cabinets
filled with thousands of varieties of
mounted moths and butterflies.
In boxes arranged around the room
repoSed scores of cocoonS.
In other trays were living moths, some
just hatched out, resplendent creatures,
every one.
The difference between a butterfly
and a moth is not well marked.
Moths are more likely to be nocturnal
in habits.
Butterflies are harmless, preferring the
nectar of flowers for food, whereas moths
are usually very destructive to leaves of
various sorts.
Gypsy and brown-tailed moths are
we'll known destroyers The Silkworm,
so-called, is one of the few moths help
full to man, and even it must be fed
huge quantities of mulberry leaves.
1t may be realized how destructive
moths are by the fact that there have
been named, in this one article, the
leaves of the rhododendron, catalpa,
elder. mulberry, on which they feed. And
how many just one worm will eat!
The larval stages of clothes moths do
untold damage, to the despair of tidy
houSekeepers and the delight of tailors.