Very many grubs make use of this habit when they imagine themselves in danger. For instance, the "fever worm," the larva of one of our common moths,--the Isabella tiger-moth,--is a noted death-feigner, and will "pretend dead" on the slightest provocation. Touch this grub with the toe of your boot, or with the tip of your finger, or with a stick, and it will at once curl up, to all appearances absolutely without life. A gentleman[110] recently told me that he saw the following example of letisimulation: One day, while sitting in his front yard, he saw a caterpillar crawling on the ground at his feet. The grub crawled too near the edge of a little pit in the sandy loam, and fell over, dragging with it a miniature avalanche of sand. It immediately essayed to climb up the north side of the pit, and had almost reached the top, when the treacherous soil gave way beneath its feet, and it rolled to the bottom. It then tried the west side, and met with a similar mishap. Not discouraged in the least by its failure, it then tried the east side, and reached the very edge, when it accidentally disturbed the equilibrium of a corncob poised upon the margin of the pit, dislodged it, and fell with it to the bottom. The caterpillar evidently thought the cob was an enemy, for it at once rolled itself into a ball and feigned death. It remained quiescent for some time, but finally "came to life," tried the south side with triumphant success, and went on its way rejoicing. This little creature evinced conscious determination and a certain amount of reason; for it never tried the same side of the pit in its endeavors to escape, but always essayed a different side from that where it had encountered failure. [110] Mr. George Mattingly, Owensboro, Kentucky.