MOTHS. 177 



not always common on the Continent ; but it is famous for the 

 large nests which its larvae make upon the oak, from which they 

 emerge to feed in a regular procession. The hairs of the larvae 

 and the fine dust in the nests are terribly irritating to the skin, 

 so much so that it is hardly safe to approach the nests. 



Family XI. — Drepanididce. 



Size small; body slender; antennae pectinated in the males ; 

 wings broad ; fore wings pointed and sometimes hooked at the 

 tip ; larvae with fourteen logs. 



These small moths somewhat resemble Geometridce. Platypteryx 

 Falcataria, Linn., which may be regarded as the type, is yellowish, 

 with darker lines ; it is not an uncommon species. 



Family XII. — Saturniidce. 



Size large ; body stout, not extending beyond the hind wings ; 

 wings broad, nearly always with a transparent spot in the middle, 

 or with a dark eye or lunule, surrounded with different-coloured 

 borders ; larva spiny, or fasciculate ; pupa enclosed in a cocoon. 



The Saturniidce are by far the finest group of Bombyces, and 

 many are among the largest moths known. Nearly all the 

 silkworms of any commercial value (except the mulberry silk- 

 worm) belong to this family. The larvae of many species are gre- 

 garious, and live on trees. Several larvae secrete a white waxy 

 powder, which may be analogous to the waxy secretion produced 

 by many Homoptera. 



Attacus Atlas, Linn., the great Atlas Moth of the East Indies, 

 varies considerably in size and shape ; the largest specimen in the 

 British Museum measures eleven inches and three quarters across 

 the wings. It is of a yellowish tawny, with brown and white 

 zigzag lines, very large transparent spots, and a yellowish blotch 

 and black spot near the tip of the fore wings. Many similar but 

 smaller species are found in South America, and one or two in 

 India. Another section of this geims, which is confined to the 

 East Indies, is represented by Attacus Cynthia, Drury, and its 

 allies, some of which are almost naturalised in Europe. They are 

 greenish or olive-yellow, with white bands bordered with brown and 

 pink, and a pale lunule on each wing, instead of a transparent spot. 



The handsomest of the North American species is Samia 

 Cecropia, Linn. It measures over six inches across the wings, 

 which are brown, with a very thick white lunule in the middle of 



M 



