Caterpillar

[Fr.] The larval state of a butterfly or moth. True caterpillars have three pairs of true legs and several pairs of fleshy legs armed with hooks. T hey usually feed on leaves, fruit, and vegetables. Some are called worms—as silk¬ worm, canker-worm, etc. After a time they sur¬ round themselves with a sheath or case of leaves, silk, or other substance, pa into the chrysalis state, and finally emerge as the mature insect. (See Butterfly.) Cell.