THE BUTTERFLY HUNTERS. 149 



moths are entirely different. The hind wings of the Poly- 

 phemus are round, without the slightest indication of the 

 long tail of the Luna. The color of the wings is dull 

 yellow, slightly clouded with black. Near the margin of 

 the fore wings is a gray band, and at the shoulder are 

 two short red and white lines. Just within the edge of 

 the hind wings is a dark gray band with an outer edge 

 of reddish white. On the centre of each wing is a trans- 

 parent spot, crossed by a fine line, and encircled by rings 

 of yellow and black. The whole is surrounded by a large 

 blue spot shaded into black. On the fore pair of wings 

 this spot is much smaller and less prominent than on the 

 hind pair. The wings of the Attacus Polyphemus expand 

 from five to six inches. 



"The Attacus Promethia is much smaller than the other 

 three. It rarely expands over three and a half inches. Its 

 caterpillar lives on Sassafras and Wild Cherry trees, and 

 the silk with which it attaches its cocoon to the twigs is 

 so strong that the rudest winds and storms of Winter have 

 no power to disturb the case of dried leaves within which 

 the cocoon rests securely. When the fresh June foliage is 

 in its prime the moth breaks forth. The color of the Pro- 

 methia moth differs according to the sex. The male is 

 dark bluish brown, and the female a light reddish tint. 

 Across the middle of the wings, in both, runs a whitish 

 line, shaded toward the margin into a wide, clay-colored 



