Notes

Apart from being equipped with tufts of hair or spines for protection, the larval coating of the caterpillar holds the body of the creature in check: it divides and separates the body from the non-body, and inside from outside. But if it signifies an endeavour to secure stability and order, it also invokes the possibility of disturbance and transgression. Even a larval coating fortified in such a way that it can cause harm to enemies is one that has the potential to crack, split or break. In this sense, then, it signifies vulnerability. Thus, if it marks the point where divisions are policed, it also – paradoxically – indicates the site where divisions are most liable to be challenged.

– Neil Dundas and Julia Charlton