New Series, February, 1906. 



381 



A MOTH IN THE SCHOOL ROOM 



Last year I received a letter from a Junior Naturalist stating that a 

 butterfly had come out of a cocoon in the schoolroom. He made a draw- 

 ing of the cocoon and I knew that he had not seen a butterfly come out 

 of it but a large, handsome silk-worm moth. In order that young natura- 

 lists may not make the mistake of calling a moth a butterfly, I have shown 

 .you a picture of the cocoon in Fig. 3 and of the moth which comes out 

 of it in Fig. 2. These large cocoons are frequently found by girls and 

 boys and taken to the schoolroom. They are the winter quarters of the 



Cecropia moth. This is a long 

 name but the moth has no 

 common name. I think our 

 boys and girls will be able to 

 remember the word Ce-cro- 

 pi-a (pronounced Cc-cro-pe-a). 

 The caterpillar from which 

 this moth develops is fre- 

 quently found on apple trees 

 and shade trees in summer 

 time. It is a large, stout green 

 caterpillar with conspicuous 

 tubercles on its back. The 

 caterpillar spins its cocoon and 

 then has a period of rest until 

 spring. If you take one of the 

 cocoons into the schoolroom, 

 keeping it cool and moist, you 



may be • able to see the large 



Fig. 3. — Cocoon of cecropia. n , ^.i ^i i. 



•^ and handsome moth that comes 



from it. If you are likely to confuse moths and butterflies, remember 



that moths usually come out of cocoons, that they have straight or 



feathered antennae or feelers without any knobs on the ends, and that 



when they are resting they spread iheir wings. The butterflies have knobs 



on the ends of the antennae and rest with the wings folded together. 



Notice whether the antennae or feelers of the Ce-cro-pi-a are straight or 



feathered. 



FOOD OF BIRDS IN LATE WINTER 



"What do little birds eat at this time of the year?" The children 

 often ask. If, as yofl go home from school, you will notice the old plant 

 stalks bearing seeds that are sticking up above the snow, you will see food 



