44 
Poisonous Arthropods 
inject their poison into man. There remain to be considered those 
insects which possess poisonous hairs or body fluids which, under 
favorable circumstances, may act as poisons. To the first of these 
belong primarily the larvae of certain Lepidoptera. 
LEPIDOPTERA 
When we consider the reputedly poisonous larvae of moths and 
butterflies, one of the first things to impress us is that we cannot 
30. Another innocent but much maligned caterpillar, the larva of the Regal moth. 
. Photograph by M. V. S. 
judge by mere appearance. Various species of Sphingid, or hawk- 
moth larvae, bear at the end of the body a chitinous horn, which is 
often referred to as a “sting” and regarded as capable of inflicting 
dangerous wounds. It would seem unnecessary to refer to this 
absurd belief if it were not that each summer the newspapers con¬ 
tain supposed accounts of injury from the “tomato worm” (fig. 29) 
and others of this group. The grotesque, spiny larva (fig. 30) of 
one of our largest moths, Citheronia regalis is much feared though 
perfectly harmless, and similar instances could be multiplied. 
But if the larva; are often misjudged on account of their ferocious 
appearance, the reverse may be true. A group of most innocent 
looking and attractive caterpillars is that of the flannel-moth larvae, 
