The Common Objects of the Country

by J. G. Wood

The egg masses are common enough, and are readily discovered by means of their bright yellow covering.

The caterpillar of this moth is a very brilliant scarlet and black creature, commonly known by the name of the “palmer-worm,” and to be found plentifully of all sizes.

People possessed of delicate skins must beware of touching the palmer-worm, or they may suffer for their temerity. I was a victim to the creature for some time before I discovered the reason of my sufferings. And the case was as follows.

Being much struck with the vivid colours of the caterpillar, I was anxious to preserve some specimens, if possible, in a manner that would retain the scarlet and black tints. One mode that seemed feasible was to make a very small snuff-box, as ladies call a rectangular rent, in the creature’s skin, to remove the entire vital organs, to fill the space with dry sand, and then, when the skin was quite dry, to pour out all the sand, leaving the empty skin.

After treating six or seven caterpillars in this fashion, I perceived a violent irritation about my face, lips, and eyes, which only became worse when rubbed. In an hour or so my face was swollen into a very horrid and withal a very absurd mass of hard knobs, as if a number of young kidney potatoes had been inserted under the skin.

Of course, I was invisible for some days, and after returning to my work, was attacked in precisely the same manner again. This second mischance set me thinking; and on consultation with the medical department, the fault was attributed to the hot sand which I had been using.

So, when I went again to the work, I discarded sand, and stuffed the caterpillars with cotton wool cut very short, like chopped straw. My horror may be conjectured, but not imagined, when I found, for the third time, that my face was beginning to assume its tubercular aspect.

Then I did what I ought to have done before, went to my entomological books, and found that various caterpillars possessed this “urticating” property, as they learnedly called it, or as I should say, that they stung worse than nettles. Since that time, I have never touched a palmer-worm with my fingers.

It was perhaps a proper punishment for neglecting the knowledge that others had recorded. But I always had rather an aversion to book entomology, and used to work out an insect as far as possible, and then see what books said about it. Certainly, although not a very rapid mode of work, yet it was a very sure one, and fixed the knowledge in the mind.