Tweezers of the brown and gold-tailed Moths, magnified.
"This is a curious instrument for the insect to have, Uncle Philip."
"True, boys, but a very useful one. I will tell you, however, of another strange thing concerning moths with their tweezers; I mean the way in which they will sometimes place their eggs. The kind of moth that does this work is not exactly known, but naturalists think that the eggs are moth's eggs, because they are covered with the down, exactly like those which are known to be moth's eggs. These eggs are twisted round a branch, like the thread of a screw, or like the curled end of a corkscrew put over a small stick. Here is a picture of some of these eggs."
Spiral group of Eggs of an unknown Moth.
"Ah, this is wonderful work indeed for a moth, Uncle Philip."
"As you seem to like this, boys, I will just mention to you that there is another moth, called the lackey-moth, which winds its eggs also around a branch. They are hard, however, and not covered with any down, and are put on in the strongest possible way. If men wish to make an arch of stone, you know that the stones will be more narrow at the bottom than at the top, so that the bottom of the arch may make a small circle, and the top a larger one: thus—