Some caterpillars not only rest, but even feed under cover, quite secure from most, if not all, of their enemies. Several of them feed on roots, and many a farmer can relate sad experiences of the havoc committed by these caterpillars on his turnips and other crops. Then there are those which feed on flowers and buds, completely burying themselves in the dense mass of food.
Fig. 27.—The Homes of Leaf Miners and Leaf Rollers.
We must conclude this brief account of resting and hiding places and attitudes of caterpillars by a few observations on the leaf miners and leaf rollers.
The former are very small caterpillars—the larvæ of certain small moths—that eat burrows into leaves without doing any considerable injury to the outer epidermis, and thus prepare a safe resting place within the substance of their food.
The latter, also mostly of small size, make themselves secure by curling a leaf or a portion of a leaf into a cylinder, and holding it in position by means of a number of silken threads.
If you examine a leaf thus curled you will soon be convinced
that a considerable number of the extremely delicate threads must be necessary to hold it in position; but, if you would like to know how a very small and feeble caterpillar can manage to roll up a comparatively large and rigid leaf, you must watch the little creature at its work.
You need have but little difficulty in finding a willing worker, for such caterpillars are extremely numerous. Take a few out of their self-made homes, place them on a sprig of the food plant, and you will soon have the pleasure of seeing one start its extraordinary work.