258 THE STUDY OF INSECTS 



the caudal part of recumbent hairs. The wings are dusky gray, crossed 

 by white lines as shown in the figure. The figure represents the male; 

 the female is much larger. The moths are found in August and Sep- 

 tember. The larva feeds upon the leaves of apple, poplar, and syringa. 

 lis body is bluish-gray, with many faint longitudinal lines; and across 

 the back of the last thoracic segment there is a narrow velvety-black 

 band. The larva reaches maturity during July. The cocoon is brownish- 

 gray, and is usually attached to one of the 

 branches of the tree on which the larva has fed. 



The American lappet, Epicnaptera americajta. 

 — This species is found from the Atlantic to the 

 Pacific. It is somewhat variable, and the different 

 varieties were formerly regarded as distinct spe- 

 Fig. 451. — Epicnaptera ameri- cies. The moth (Fig. 45 1 ) is reddish-brow T n, 

 with the inner angle of the front wings and the 

 costal margin of the hind wings deeply notched. Beyond the middle 

 of each wing there is a pale band edged with zigzag, dark brown lines. 

 The larva lives upon apple, cherry, oak, birch, maple, and ash. When 

 full-grown it measures 2§ inches in length and | inch in breadth. The 

 upper side is slate-gray, mottled with black, with two transverse scarlet 

 bands, one on the second and one on the third thoracic segments. There 

 is a black spot on each end and in the middle of each of these bands. 

 The larva is found during July and August. It is said that the cocoons 

 are attached to limbs like those of Tolype; but the larvae of this species 

 that we have bred made their cocoons between leaves, or in the folds of 

 the muslin bag enclosing the limb upon which they were feeding. The 

 species passes the winter in the pupa state; and the moth appears in 

 June, when it lays its eggs upon the leaves of the trees it infests. 



THE SKIPPERS 



The skippers are so-called on account of their peculiar mode of flight. 

 They fly in the daytime and dart suddenly from place to place. When 

 at rest most species hold the wings erect in a vertical position like butter- 

 flies; in many the fore wings are thus held while the hind wings are 

 extended horizontally ; and a few extend both pairs of wings horizontally. 

 The head is wide; the antennae are widely separated; they are thread- 

 like, and enlarged toward the tip; and in most cases the extreme tip is 

 pointed and recurved, forming a hook. The abdomen is usually stout, 

 resembling that of a moth rather than that of a butterfly. 



Family Megathymid^e 



The Giant Skippers 



This family includes a small number of large skippers, which are 

 found in the South and far West. In the adult insect the head is of 

 moderate size, the width, including the eyes, being much less than that 

 of the metathorax. The club of the -antenna? is large; and, although the 

 tip is turned slightly to one side, it is neither drawn out to a point nor 

 recurved. The body is very robust. These insects fly in the daytime 

 and with a rapid, darting, flight. When at rest they fold their wings in a 

 vertical position. 



