720 



AN INTRODUCTION TO ENTOMOLOGY 



furrow, the bottom of 

 which is sometimes 

 thickened so as to ap- 

 pear Hke a humeral 

 vein (Fig. 919). 



The larvae of most 

 of our species live ex- 

 posed on the leaves of 

 trees and shrubs ; but 

 some of them, as the 

 New Mexico range- 

 caterpillar, feed on 

 grass. They are more 

 or less armed with 

 tubercles and spines 

 and are very conspicu- 

 ous on account of 

 their large size. Most 

 of them transform 

 within silken cocoons, 

 which are usually very 

 dense, and in some 

 cases have been utiliz- 

 ed by man. These co- 

 coons are often at- 

 tached to trees and 

 shrubs, and are some- 

 times inclosed in a 

 leaf. They can be 

 easily collected during 

 the winter months, 

 and the adults bred 

 from them. The lar- 

 va3 of some members 

 of the family, as Hemi- 



leuca mdia, enter the ground to transform. 



The family Satumiidee as now recognized includes what were 



formerly regarded as two distinct 



families, the Hemileucidee and 



the Satumiid^. Our latest list 



includes only 34 species, of which 



the following are the better 



known. 



The Maia-moth, Hemilenca 



niaia. — The genus Hemileuca is 



represented in our fauna by elev- 

 en species, but only one of these is 



found in the East. In this species 



(Fig. 920) the wings are thinly Fig. ^20.— Hemileuca maia. 



Fig. 919. — Wings of Samia cecropia 



