LEPIDOPTERA 



675 



The larvas feed upon the leaves of shrubs and trees. Our most 

 common species Hve exposed ; but some species hve in folded leaves. 

 They are either naked or clothed with hairs. Many species have only 

 well-developed prolegs, the anal pair being rudimentary, or trans- 

 formed into elongated spikes. Some species are himip-backed ; and 

 spines or fleshy tubercles are often present. The transformations occur 

 in slight cocoons or in the ground. 



The family Notodontidae is represented in this country by about 

 one hundred species. A monograph of the family was published by 

 Packard ('95) in which there are many colored figures of larvse. The 

 following are some of the more common species. 



The handmaid moths, Datana. — Among the more common repre- 

 sentatives of the Notodontidae are certain brown moths that have the 

 fore wings crossed with bars of a different shade (Fig. 840) and that 

 bear on the fore part of the thorax a conspicuous patch of darker 

 color. In most of our species the fore 

 wings are also marked with a dot near 

 the center of the discal cell and a bar 

 on the discal vein. These moths be- 

 long to the genus Datana. The com- 

 mon name, handmaid, is a translation 

 of the specific name of our most com- 

 mon species, D. mimstra. But as this 

 species is now generally known as the 

 3'ellow-necked apple-tree worm, and as 

 all of our species are dressed in sober 

 attire as becomes modest servants, we have applied the term hand- 

 maid moths to the entire genus. 



The larvae of the handmaid moths are easily recognized by their 

 peculiar habits. They are common on various fruit and forest trees, 

 but especially on apple, oak, and hickory. 



Fig. 840. — Datana. 



Fig. 841. — Datana, larva. 



They feed in colonies ; and have the habit of assuming the curious 

 attitude shown in Figure 841. The body is black or reddish, marked 



