SCIENTIFIC SURVEY. jgg 



the numerous exceptions, afford good characters for distiuguisliing 

 them. Likewise the thiclf hairy hirvae, which spin silken thick 

 cocoons, and change to short thick pupae, separate this family. 

 There are several well marked minor groups, of which the Litho- 

 sians, with their slender bodies and wings, simple antennae, and 

 slender verticillated larvae, head the group. They are also day 

 fliers. Most of the group have narrow wings, such as Deiopeia 

 bellq which has bands of white enclosing dark spots on the fore 

 wings, and scarlet hind wings, edged without irregularly with 

 black. The species of Crocota of uniform pale red, look like Geo- 

 metrids, and Nudaria has broad, nearly transparent wings, with 

 square thinner spots. 



The Arctians have thick bodies, and simple or feathered anten- 

 nae. Their larvae have whorls of long spinulose hairs, as in the 

 " yellow bears," the young of A. Isabella, the buff brown species, 

 which is yellow and black, and curls up and lies on its side when 

 disturbed. The common yellow caterpillar is the young of Spilo- 

 soma virginica, a white species found in gardens, in August. 

 S. acraea has a partly buff body, its larva is the Salt Marsh Cater- 

 pillar. Halesidota has ^ short thick larva, with raised middle tufts. 

 The moths are yellowish with cross bauds of spots, often partially 

 transparent. They lead to the Dasychirae or tussock caterpillars, 

 which have long pencils of hairs projecting before and behind the 

 body. The pretty larva of Orgyia is variously tufted and colored, 

 and feeds on garden vegetables. The moths fly in the sunshine in 

 September, and resemble Geometrids. The thick and wooly bodied, 

 pale yellow crinkled-haired genus Lagoa, leads to the Cochlidice, a 

 most interesting and anomalous group, when we consider the slug- 

 like, footless larvae, which are either hemispherical, boat-shaped, 

 or oblong with large fleshy spines. The moths are small, thick 

 bodied, and with antennae pectinated two thirds of their length, 

 or they are slender bodied with simple feelers, and resemble closely 

 some of the Tortri«es. They are very difficult to raise, as they 

 generally die in confinement. 



The Notodontians have larvse singularly humped, with naked or 

 slightly hairy bodies, having the last pair of prop-legs often pro- 

 longed and not often used in locomotion, being when at rest elevated 

 over the back. The moths resemble very closely Nocluw. They 

 may be distinguished by their small, sunken heads, feathered an- 

 tennae, and often by the tufted inner margin of the primaries. 



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