608 AN INTRODUCTION TO ENTOMOLOGY 



Family EUCLEID^* 

 The Slug-Caterpillar Moths 



One often finds on the leaves of shrubs or trees, elHptical or oval 



larvae that resemble slugs in the form of the body and in their gliding 

 motion. As these are the larvae of moths they have been 

 termed slug-caterpillars; but they present very little 

 similarity in form to other caterpillars. The resemblance 

 to slugs is greatly increased by the fact that the lower sur- 

 face of the body is closely applied to the object upon which 

 the larva is creeping, the thoracic legs being small and the 

 prolegs wanting. There is, however, on the ventral side 



of the abdomen a series of sucking-disks, which serve the purpose of 



prolegs. The head of the larva is small and retractile. In some 



species the body is naked ; in others it is clothed with tufts of hairs ; 



and in others there is an armature of branching spines. Several 



species bear venomous sets. 



The larvae when full-grown spin very dense cocoons of brown 



silk; these are egg-shaped or nearly spherical, and are furnished at 



one end with a cap which 



can be pushed aside by the 



adult when it emerges (Fig. 



738) . The cocoons are usu- 

 ally spun between leaves. 

 The moths are of me- 

 dium or small size ; the body 



is stout, and the wings are 



heavily and loosely scaled. 



The maxillcB are vestigial. 



These moths vary greatly in 



appearance, and many of 



them are very prettily col- 

 ored. 



Considerable variation 



exists in the venation of the 



wings in this family (Fig. 



739 and Fig. 740). The base 



of media may be preserved 



or wanting ; in some species 



it is forked within the discal 



cell, in others not. There is 



also considerable variation 

 the coalescence of the 



m 



is/ A 

 Fig. 739. — Wings of Adoneta spintdoides. 



branches of radius, but 



veins R3 and R4 coalesce to a greater extent than any other branches 



of this vein. There is no accessory cell. In the hind wings veins Sc 



*This family is termed the Cochlidiidae by some writers, and by others the 

 Limacodidae. 



