148 THE BUTTERFLY HUNTERS. 



is a long, crescent-shaped spot of dull white shaded on the 

 lower edge with the same shade of red as appears on the 

 shoulders. The Attacus Cecropia has large feathered an- 

 tennae, and its body is very thick and clumsy : its back 

 is dull red, and underneath it is mixed red and white. 

 The caterj^illar of the Cecropia moth is a huge, disgusting 

 fellow. He is more than three inches long, of a clear 

 green color, and covered with red and yellow warts and 

 black bristles. It lives on various kinds of fruit trees. I 

 have often captured specimens of this caterpillar and sup- 

 plied them with the proper leaves for food, in the hope 

 of seeing the process of transformation to the cocoon ; but 

 this caterpillar, like others of the genus Attacus, does not 

 like confinement, and my specimens have always died. 

 You will have no difficulty in finding the cocoons. They 

 are firmly attached to the side of twigs, and the best way 

 to preserve them is to cut the twig and allow the cocoon 

 to remain as placed by the worm. Sometimes the cocoon 

 is twisted off by the wind and falls among the dry leaves. 

 The insect remains in the chrysalis all Winter, and breaks 

 fojth from its prison cell some time in June. 



"The Attacus Polyphemus is also a very large moth. In 

 the caterpillar state it lives on the Oak and Elm, and 

 forms its cocoon with an outward covering of leaves very 

 much the same way as the Luna moth. The caterpillars 

 of the Luna and Polyphemus are very similar, but the 



