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Home Nature-Stldy Course. 



PROMETHEA (CallosaiJiiii prouiethea) 



The promethea is not so large as the cecropia, although the female 

 resembles the latter somewhat. It is the most common of all of our 

 giant silk-worms. 



Food plants. — Wild cherry, lilac, ash, sassafras, buttonwood and 

 many other forest trees. 



The eggs. — These are whitish with brown stain, and are laid in rows, 

 a good many on the same leaf. 



The caterpillar. — The caterpillars, as they hatch from the eggs, have 

 bodies ringed with black and yellow. They arc sociable little fellows and 

 live together side by side amicabh^ not exactly " toeing the mark " like a 

 spelling class, but all heads in a row at the edge of the leaf where each 

 is eating as fast as possible. When they are small the caterpillars remain 

 on the under side of the leaves out of sight. In about five days, the first 

 skin is shed and the color of the caterpillars remains about the same. 



Four or five days later, 

 the second molt occurs, 

 and then the caterpillar 

 appears in a beautiful 

 bluish-green costume 

 with black tubercles, ex- 

 cept four large ones on 

 the second and third 

 segments, and one large 

 one on the eleventh seg- 

 ment, which are yellow. 

 Tliis caterpillar has an 

 interQsting habit o f 

 weaving a carpet of silk 

 on which to change the 

 skin ; it seems to be bet- 

 ter able to hold on while 

 pushing off the old skin if it has the silken rug to cling to. After the 

 third molt, the color is a deeper greenish-blue and the black tubercles are 

 smaller, and the five big ones are larger and bright orange in color. After 

 the fourth molt, which occurs after a period of about five days later, the 

 caterpillar appears in its last stage. It is now over two inches long, quite 

 smooth and prosperous looking. Its color is a beautiful light, greenish- 

 blue, and its head is yellow. It has six rows of short, round black tuber- 

 cles. The four large tubercles at the front end of the body are red, and 

 the large tubercle on the rear end of the body is yellow. 



Promethea caterpillars fully groicii. 



