File:Little folks in feathers and fur, and others in neither (1875) (14597518799).jpg

Identifier: littlefolksinfea00mill (find matches)
Title: Little folks in feathers and fur, and others in neither
Year: 1875 (1870s)
Authors: (Miller, Harriet (Mann) Mrs.), 1831- (from old catalog)
Subjects: Zoology
Publisher: Hartford, Conn., Dustin, Gilman & co. Cincinnati, Ohio, Queen city publishing co. (etc., etc.)
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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honey. 150 LITTLE FOLKS Dont think that the bees and wasps make all the cunningnurseries. There is a little Beetle mother, who makes a pretty greentent for her baby. She makes it of a leaf, which she leaves hang-ing to the tree, so that every breeze will rock the cradle. Andthat baby eats its own tent up. How do you suppose a little Beetle would go to work to rollup a leaf ever so much larger than itself? It is a wonderful opera-tion, and Ill tell you how it is. First, she gnaws through the thickveins of the leaf in a good many places, so that it will be easy toroll. Then she fastens a row of threads, which she spins from herown body, from one side to the other. These threads, which are really ropes to her, she tightens, oneby one, by pulling them with her feet. As she draws one a littlenearer, she spins a shorter rope to hold it there. So she goes onshortening them more and more, till she draws it completely over,where she wants it. You can see two of these leafy tents in thepicture.
Text Appearing After Image:
Men, with all their wisdom, could find no better way to do thatjob, than the humble little Beetle takes. If you ever notice leaves, and I hope you do, for theyreexquisitely beautiful, you have perhaps occasionally seen one with IN FEATHERS AND FUR. 151 white zigzag paths all over it. That is made by the tiny grub of alittle Moth. It is too dainty to eat the skin of a leaf—you knowleaves have skins, dont you? — so it eats its way through the greenpart of the leaf. You can generally find the little miner curled upat the end of his long white path. But youll have to look verysharp, for hes almost too little to see. There is also in the samepicture, several leaves tunneled by this little fellow. All the mothers I have told you about, only take care of theirown babies. How much more wonderful are the ways of tamebees, and ants, who actually live in families, build immense houses,and devote their lives to bringing up the babies of all. Wise men have spent lives in studying about them, a

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