246 The Orders of Insects 



Eupterotidae. — The EupterotiJce are a family of large moths agreeing 

 with the Bombycids in the vestigial condition of the first maxilla 

 and the bipectinate feelers in both sexes, but differing in possessing a 

 frenulum. There are only four radial nervures in the forewing. In 

 the hindwing there are two anal nervures ; the sub-costal nervure is 

 connected with the radial by a cross nervule at the base, but is other- 

 wise free. The larvse, with ten pro-legs, are furnished with tufts of 

 long hair. The moths of this family are stout in build and brown or 

 ochreous in colour. They are numerous in tropical Africa and Asia ; 

 the only European species— the " processionary moth" Cnethocampa 

 processioned does not occur in our islands. 



Ceratocampidae. — The Ceratocampldie are a family of large moths 

 with short first maxills, the feelers being bipectinate except at the 

 tip in the males, and thread-like in the females. The frenulum is 

 wanting, as in the Uraniidse, but the fifth radial nervure of the fore- 

 wing is not stalked from the first median. The caterpillars, with 

 ten pro-legs, are both hairy and spiny. The moths of this family, 

 conspicuously marked with red or yellow variegated patterns, are con- 

 fined to the warmer parts of America. 



Brahmaeidae. — The Brahmaida are a family of large moths with 

 only one genus {Bralimcea). The feelers are bipectinate in both sexes, 

 the first maxillse fairly developed, and the frenulum wanting. In the 

 hindwing the sub-costal nervure bends towards and nearly touches the 

 radial beyond the short cell ; this character separates these moths from 

 all the other families which have lost the frenulum. They have ample 

 rounded wings usually dark brown in colour with lighter undulating 

 lines towards the termen. They are found in Africa, Northern India 

 and Burma, Central Asia and China. 



Saturniidae. — The Saturniida: are a large family of big moths 

 agreeing with the Bombycids in most structural features — absence of 

 frenulum, vestigial first maxillse, bipectinate feelers, and unarmed 

 legs, but distinguished readily by possessing only a single anal nervure 

 in the hindwing, and only three radial nervures in the forewing. The 

 stout caterpillars, with ten pro-legs, are furnished with spine-bearing 

 tubercles. The pupa is enclosed in a dense silken cocoon often of 

 commercial value. The moths are handsomely coloured insects, usually 

 characterised by a clear, unsealed eye-spot at the end of the ceil of 

 each wing. The family is distributed in all parts of the world, 

 though represented by a single species {^Saturnia pa-vonia-minor^ only in 

 our countries. The great Indian Attacus atlas is the largest of all the 

 Lepidoptera. 



In all the succeeding families the feelers are clubbed and the frenulum 

 is absent. This combination marks off the " butterflies " from the pre- 

 ceding families — "moths" — among which the two characters are never 

 found together (147, 148). 



Hesperiidae. — The Hesperiida or Skippers are butterflies of small 



