Silkworm moths are ravenous eaters, living principally on mulberry leaves. They show much intelligence in forming their cocoons. Thus a South American moth (Fig. 241) forms a basketlike structure which it suspends from some limb. The cradle swings in the wind like a seed pod, more than anything else, and would never be suspected as inclosing a living creature. Many of the moths, by some remarkable instinct, deposit their eggs where the young will find an immediate supply of food. This care for their young is the cause of a vast amount of damage among fruit trees. The fruit moth, as an example, deposits its eggs in fruit; the caterpillar penetrates it and devours the interior, thousands of bushels of apples being destroyed yearly in this way, not to speak of other fruits. [Illustration: FIG. 242.--Tent moth, caterpillar and cocoon.] One of the best known of the moths is the tent moth (Fig. 242), the larva of which forms a tentlike web for its protection in the trees it affects. A richly tinted flyer is known as the goat moth (Fig. 243), the caterpillar being a large and beautiful creature. [Illustration: FIG. 243.--Goat moth.] XXVIII. THE ANTS If the question should be propounded which next to man is the most intelligent of animals, the reply might be, the ants; for after a careful study of all the ways and habits of these small insects, it will be very evident that the lives of many are conducted with more method than the lowest human lives. The ants belong to the great group called Hymenoptera--insects with membranelike wings, including the gall flies, bees, and wasps. Ants are found everywhere. Long lines are seen marching along, some coming, some going, in countless multitudes. Yet drop a strange ant into this highway and it is at once discovered and in danger. If water is poured into a nest of ants, the inhabitants come rushing out. Some come to fight, and others bear in their mouths the young (Fig. 244), countless thousands, to a place of safety. The ant is a trim, vigorous individual, fleet of foot, tireless, never weary, brave, industrious, a type of the worker. The head is large. The eyes are compound, with three single eyes. The antennæ are long, slender organs by which ants appear to recognize friends or foes, and possibly talk with them in some way. Certainly when two ants meet, a very strange interchange of courtesies with the antennæ is performed. The males and females are winged, and there is a third kind without wings, called workers. [Illustration: FIG. 244.--Ants removing their young to a place of safety.] [Illustration: FIG. 245.--Tunnels of ants.]