I 



This singular insect is so closely allied to Clostera, Hoff.^ that 

 Ochsenheimer includes both in his genus Pygaeia; and as P. 

 buccphala forms his last division of the genus, and does not 

 agree with his characters, it would be necessary to give a new 

 generic name to it, if Clostera had not been applied to the 

 other portion. Mr. Children says, "Ochsenheimer confesses 

 that it is difficult to justify the placing the 6th species [Buce- 

 phala) with the rest of his Pygccrcc^ since the setose antennas 

 of the females, the fore feet extended when at rest, and the 

 mode of metamorphosis are opposed to that arrangement." It 

 was the opinion of Godart that it was allied to the Noctuidae, 

 although he placed it with the Bombycidas, following the ex- 

 ample of other authors. 



That the presence of maxillae will not exclude it from the 

 Bombycida?, is evident from the Cerurae having them, as shown 

 in pi. 193, and in Pygeera they are more closely united and 

 slightly spiral : the strongest evidence against its belonging to 

 that family is the tact of the Larvae burying themselves in the 

 ground, like a Noctua, without forming any cocoon; yet this 

 may justly be considered merely as an exception, since many 

 Noctuae spin webs and do not enter the earth, yet they are 

 not considered Bombycidae. 



Pygaera has been said to be closely allied to Cossus, but 

 excepting a slight similarity in the form of the joints of the 

 antennae in the males, and a little perhaps in the markings of 

 the thorax, there is no resemblance whatever : it seems to be 

 somewhat connected with Stauropus, and is very nearly related 

 to Notodonta, and perhaps in some degree to Cerura, which 

 rests with its fore legs porrected in the same manner as Pygaera. 

 The labial palpi are triarticulate, but Dr. Leach having de- 

 scribed them as2-jointed, the error has been repeated by others; 

 and no one suspected that maxillary palpi existed in the Bom- 

 bycidas until those of Cerura were figured in this Work, al- 

 though one describe?; who could not discover 3 joints in the 

 labial Palpi, speaks of " Palpi four " in Cerura, and " of the 

 distinctions in the trophi which can only be observed by dis- 

 section," as if it had fallen to his lot to make the discovery. 



Our figure of the larva is from Hiibner ; when young they 

 live in society and feed on the surface of the leaf in a very 

 compact and curious way, as represented by Sepp, and when 

 nearly full grown they do not leave the tree on which they 

 were bred, if one may judge from the quantity of soil seen oc- 

 casionally upon the ground; but when they are about to inhume 

 themselves, in the autumn, and the wind shakes them from their 

 abodes, they are seen wandering on paling and the ground in 

 every direction under alders, birch, chestnuts, elms, limes, 

 maples, oaks and willows, on all of which they feed. The 

 beautiful moth, which according to Godart smells of musk, 

 hatches the following .Tune, generally towards the end, and is 

 abundant throughout the Kingdom. 



