Homes Without Hands: Being a Description of the Habitations of Animals, Classed According to Their Principle of Construction

Specimens of the perfect insect have now been obtained, and are seen to be butterflies closely resembling in shape the lovely Heliconidæ, which are so plentiful in Southern America, but of very simple colors, the general hue being blackish-brown, diversified by a broad, but indistinctly marked white band across the wings. Examples of the nest have lately been sent to Vienna, but any one who wishes to see the specimen from which the above sketch and description were taken may do so by visiting the museum at Oxford, where the perfect butterflies may also be seen. The scientific name of the butterfly is Eucheira socialis.

On the upper part of the same illustration may be seen a curious object, that looks something like a flattened pincushion fastened to the branches. This is the nest of a social insect, and is, I believe, a unique specimen. It was brought from Tropical Africa by Vernon Wollaston, Esq., and is so remarkable as to deserve a detailed description.

In length it measures eight inches, and in width five and a half inches, its depth being about three inches. The aspect of the exterior gives but little promise of the exceeding strength of the structure, which is as hard and elastic as the side of a silk hat, rebounding when pressed in precisely the same manner. When cut, this covering is seen to be double, the outer case being very thin, and formed of orange-brown silken threads, and the inner being made of many successive layers of dark-brown silk, so that it looks very like undressed leather.

The most extraordinary part of the nest, however, is the provision which is made for the exit of the inmates. Set upon different parts of the nest are thirteen or fourteen little conical protuberances, which do not project very far from the general surface, and are quite inconspicuous. On examination, these prominences are seen to be composed of stiff silken threads, which converge to a point, precisely like those which guard the entrance of the emperor moth's cocoon, so that any inhabitant can crawl out, but no enemy can crawl in.

This nest, like the preceding, may be seen in the museum at Oxford.

THERE is a very pretty, very interesting, and very destructive insect, called by entomologists the SMALL ERMINE MOTH (Yponomeuta padella), which is very plentiful in this country, and by gardeners is thought to be much too plentiful. It can easily be recognized by its long narrow wings, the upper pair of which are soft silvery or satiny white, spotted with black, and the lower pair dark brown. The expanse of the spread wings is about three quarters of an inch.

In its winged and pupal states the insect is perfectly harmless, but in its larval condition it becomes a terrible pest. Most caterpillars wage war singly on the foliage, and though they do much damage, their ravages are conducted in a desultory manner. The Small Ermines, however, band themselves together in hosts, and march like disciplined armies to the attack, invading a district and completely devastating it before they proceed to another.

They live in large tents, placed among the branches of some tree, and composed of silken threads, which are loosely crossed and recrossed in various directions. From this centre the caterpillars issue in vast numbers, each individual spinning a strong silken thread as it proceeds, which acts as a guide to the nest, just as the fabled clew led through the intricacies of Rosamond's bower. When once these caterpillars have taken possession of a tree, they are sure to strip it of its leaves as completely as if the foliage had been plucked by hand. It is a very curious sight to watch the systematic manner in which these troublesome insects set about their work, how they send out pioneers which lead the way to new branches, either by crawling up to them or by lowering themselves to them, by means of their silken life-lines, and how soon they are followed by their ever-hungry companions.

Small Ermine Moth.

<!-- pandi-media-anchor:figure-p473-o76-94eaebcaad9b723e -->

Perhaps the reader may wonder why the little birds do not eat these caterpillars. When they have nearly stripped the branch they are very conspicuous, especially as they make their way from bough to bough along their silken bridges. Indeed, a proprietor of a garden that was much damaged by this moth did once mention the immunity of the caterpillars as a proof that any tenderness to small birds was misplaced, saying that if the sparrows were half as insectivorous as I mentioned, they would long ago have eaten all the caterpillars.

Now, at the first glance, there seemed to be some reason in this remark; but a short look at one of the damaged trees explained the reason why the sparrows did not eat the caterpillars. The birds literally dared not approach the insects; for the silken threads which traversed the branches in all directions were an effectual barrier, striking against the wings and terrifying the poor birds. We all know that a few threads of fine cotton passed from bough to bough of a gooseberry-bush will deter any little bird from settling on it, and, in the same manner, the silken threads of the caterpillars deter the birds from settling on the branches. These threads are very elastic, and of marvelous strength considering their tenacity, producing most uncomfortable sensations when they come across the face, and being nearly as strong as the fibres spun by the common silkworm.

The caterpillar which works all this damage is rather slender, and is covered with black dots along the back.

ANOTHER well-known British insect which constructs social habitations is the GOLD-TAILED MOTH (Porthesia chrysorrhea), a familiar and beautiful insect, with wings of soft downy plumage, and snowy-white in color, and a tuft of yellow hair at the end of the tail. The perfect insect may often be seen sticking on the trunks of trees in gardens, waiting until the evening, when it will fly off to its labors.

When the moth has laid its eggs, it plucks off the beautiful yellow tuft at the end of the tail, and with it forms a roof over the pile of eggs, laying the hairs so artificially as to make a perfect thatch. When the larvæ are hatched they retain their sociability, and spin for themselves a common domicile. This house is very remarkable. Viewed on the exterior, it is seen to be a bag-like structure of whitish silk, rather strong and tough, but very yielding.

One of these nests, which I found in Wiltshire, is now before me. It was found in a hedge, about two feet from the ground, and is rather a complicated structure. The scaffolding, so to speak, of the nest is formed by a horizontal spray of three small twigs, and it is strengthened by the long hedge-grass which crossed the spray. Seeds of different kinds are woven into the walls, so that a comparatively small portion of the silk is exposed to a

When cut open, it shows a singularly beautiful structure within. There are several sheets of silken tissue, each becoming more delicate, and the innermost being white, shining like satin; whereas the outer covering is dull white, and very tough, clinging to the scissors so that a straight cut is almost impossible. Delicate walls divide the interior into several compartments, in all of which are evidences that the caterpillars must have resided for some time. The reason why the creatures make this nest is that they are hatched toward the end of summer, and, in consequence, are forced to pass the winter in the larval condition, so that some warm residence is needful for them. It is well-known that air is a very bad conductor of heat, and, in consequence, the successive sheets of silk which cover the nest, and which inclose layers of air between them, form a protection which is far warmer than would be obtained by a solid mass of silk measuring twice the thickness of the three walls, together with their intervening spaces.

THERE is an allied insect, popularly called the BROWN-TAILED MOTH (Porthesia auriflua), which spins a social nest that in many respects resembles that of the Gold-tailed Moth. The nest, however, is scarcely so elegant, nor is the silken web so beautifully delicate. Much, however, depends upon surrounding conditions, such as the disposition of the twig on which the nest is placed, and the presence or absence of leaves, whether those of the tree or of other plants that happen to grow in close proximity.

THESE nests are very firmly constructed, and the walls are solid, as is needful for insects which are obliged to pass the winter within them. There are, however, many caterpillars which live socially, and which spin a common habitation, but which leave it before the cold weather comes on, and, in consequence, do not need such thick walls. Any hedgerows where nettles are found will supply numerous examples of such nests, made by the curious caterpillars which afterward assume the lovely and familiar forms of the Peacock and SMALL TORTOISE-SHELL BUTTERFLIES (Vanessa Io and Vanessa urticæ). Great black masses of these caterpillars may be seen upon the nettles, and, on examining them closely, they will be seen to reside within a common home, made of tough silken threads, very loosely spun, and forming a kind of net, with long and irregular meshes.

CHAPTER XXIV.

SOCIAL INSECTS (Continued).

A curious Ant from India (Myrmica Kirbii).—Locality of its Nest.—Description of the Nest, its Material, and Mode of Structure.—A nocturnal Misadventure.—The Driver Ant of Africa.—Description of the Insect.—Reason for its Name.—Its general Habits.—Destructive Powers of the Driver Ant.—How the Insects devour Meat and convey it Home.—How they kill Snakes.—Native Legend of the Python.—Their Mode of March.—Fatal Effects of the Sunbeams.—An extemporized Arch.—Method of escaping from Floods.—Site of their Habitation.—Modes of destroying them.—Living Ladders and their Structure.—Method of crossing Streams.—Tenacity of Life.—A decapitated Ant.—Mode of Biting.—Description of the Insect.—Curious Nest of a Brazilian Wasp.—Weight of the Nest and Method of Attachment.—Variety of Polistes Nest.—Polistes aterrimus and its singular Nest.—Beautiful Structure of an unknown Polistes.

ALTHOUGH several species of Ants have been mentioned under the title of burrowing insects, there are many which possess very interesting habits, and which may here take their place among the creatures which build social habitations. Among them is a curious insect inhabiting India, and discovered by Colonel Sykes, the well-known naturalist, who called it Myrmica Kirbii.

This insect forms its nest on the branches of trees and shrubs, and Colonel Sykes mentions that he has found their curious habitation on the branches of the Kurwund shrub, Carissa Carondes, and on the Mango-tree, Mangifera Indica.

The nests are more or less spherical, and are about as large as an ordinary foot-ball. The material of which they are made is cowdung, which is spread in flakes in a manner that reminds the observer of the outside cover of a wasp's nest. The flakes are placed upon each other like the tiles of a house, so that, although the insects can creep into the nest beneath the flakes, no water can enter. On the summit of the nest is one very large flake, that acts as a general roof to the structure.

Within the nest are placed a number of cells made of the same material as the exterior, and in them may be found insects in every state of development, eggs in one, larvæ in another, and pupæ in a third. No provision seems to be laid up within the nest, so that the inhabitants must depend on their daily excursions for their food.