Caterpillar

[Probably from Fr. chaton, a catkin, from its resemblance to a catkin, and piller, to plunder, to strip, to peel, from its peeling the trees or bushes on which it is bred.] ( Zool.) The larvæ of lepidopterous insects-butterflies, moths, and hawk-moths. C. exhibit as great differences as subsist among the perfect insects into which they change, and the family, genus, and species may be determined by the characters of the C., as well as of the perfect insect. Their body is generally long, nearly cylindrical, soft, and consisting of twelve rings or segments besides the head, with nine spiracles or small openings for respiration on each side. The head is much harder than the rest of the body, of a sort of almost horny substance, and has six small shining points on each side, which are regarded as simple or stemmatic eyes, and is also furnished with two very short rudimentary antennse. The mouth is adapted for tearing, cutting, and masticating the substances on which the C. is destined to feed, which are very various in the different species, although in all extremely different from the food of the perfect insect; it is provided with two strong mandibles, or upper jaws; two mazilla, or lower jaws; a labium, or lower lip; and four palpi, or feelers. In the mouth also is situated the spinneret of those species which, when they change into the chrysalis or pupa state, envelop themselves in silken cocoons. The first three segments of the body are each furnished with a pair of feet, which are hard and scaly, and represent the six feet of the perfect insect; some of the remaining segments are also furnished with feet, varying in all from four to ten in number, the last pair situated at the posterior extremity of the body; but these feet are soft and membranous, or fleshy, and armed at their extremity with a sort of circlet of minute hooks. All the feet or legs are very short. Those C. in which the pro - legs, as they are sometimes called, or supplementary soft feet, are pretty equally distributed along the body, move by a sort of regular crawling motion; but those which have only four such feet situated near the posterior extremity, move by alternately taking hold by what may be called their fore-feet and their hind-feet, now stretching the body out to its full length, and now bending it into an arch, whilst the hinder part is brought forward almost into contact with the forepart. C. which move in this way are called Geometers or Loopers . Some C. have the power of fixing themselves by the two hind-feet to a twig, and stretching 1 2 Fig . 538. -LEAF OF THE VINE ATTACKED BY THE PYRALES. 1, the male; 2, the female; 3, the caterpillar; 4, the eggs; 5 and 6, the chrysalides. themselves out as straight as a rod, so that being in color very like a twig of the tree on the leaves of which they feed, they are not readily observed. The muscular power required for this recumbent position is very great, and Lyonnet found the number of muscles in a C. to be more than 4,000. The skin of some C. is naked, that of others is covered with hair, spines, or tubercles. Some make for themselves nests or tents of silk, under which they dwell in societies, protected from the inclemency of the weather. Many construct cases or sheaths by agglutinating various substances together, as the C. of the common clothes-moth. Some roll leaves together, and fix them by threads, thus forming a dwelling for themselves; and a few burrow and excavate galleries in the substance of the leaves. Numbers feed on leaves; many being limited to a particular kind of plant, or to a few nearly allied plants. Some feed on flowers, some on seeds, some on roots, and some even on the woody portions of stems; some on wool, hides, furs, and other animal substances; a few on lard, and other kinds of fat. Among the admirable arrangements which make all nature harmonious, is the adjustment of the time of each kind of C's appearance to that of the leaf or flower on which it is to feed. Cater in a, (Santa,) ( kat - ai - re'na ,) a town of Sicily, 8 m. from Cal tan i sett a, near the bank of the Salso; pop . 6,411. Cat'erwaul, v. n. [Probably from cat and waul, wail.] To waul, miaul, or cry, as cats in rutting-time.