LEPIDOPTERA. 299 



Attacus Cecropia* is a still larger insect cxpar.dliig from five 

 inches and three quarters to six inches and a halt'. 'Vh^ hind 

 winces are rounded; and not tailed. The ground-color of the 

 wino-s is a gri/zled dusky brown, with the hinder margins clay- 

 colored; near the middle of each of the wings there is an opake 

 kidney-shaped dull red spot, having a white centre and a nar- 

 row black edging; and beyond the spot a wavy dull red band, 

 bordered internally with white; the fore wings, next to the 

 shoulders, are dull red, with a curved white band; nnd near 

 the tips of the same is an eye-like black spot, within a bluish 

 white crescent; the upper side of the body and the legs are 

 dull red; the fore part of the thorax and the hinder edges of 

 the rings of the abdomen are white; and the belly is checkered 

 with red and white. This moth makes its api)earance during 

 the month of June. The caterpillar is found on apple, cherry 

 and plum trees, and on currant and barberry bushes in July 

 and August. When young, it is of a deep yellow color, with 

 rows of minute black warts on its back. It comes to its full 

 size by the first of September, and then measures three inches, 

 or more, in length, and is thicker than a man's thumb. It is 

 then entirely of a fine, clear, light green color; on the top of 

 the second ring are two large globular coral-red warts, beset 

 with about fourteen very short black bristles ; the two warts 

 on the top of the third ring are like those on the second, but 

 rather larger; on the top of the seven following rings there are 

 two very long egg-shaped yellow warts, bristled at the end, 

 and a single wart of larger size on the eleventh ring; on each 

 side of the body there are two longitudinal rows of long light 

 blue warts, bristled at the end, and an additional short row, 

 below them, along the first five rings. This caterpillar does 

 not bear confinement well ; but it may be seen spinning its 

 cocoon, early in September, on the twigs of the trees or bushes 

 on which it lives. The cocoon is fastened longitudinally to 

 the side of a twig. It is, on an average, three inches long, and 

 one inch in diameter at the widest part. Its shape is an ob- 



♦ Cecropia was the ancient name of the city of Athens ; its application, by 

 Linnaeus, to this moth is inexplicable. 



