LEPIDOPTERA. 305 



size. The male, which is the smallest, is of a deep or Indian 

 yellow color; on its fore wings there are two obli(iue wavy 

 lines towards the hind margin, a zigzag line near the base, and 

 several spots so arranged on the middle as to form the letters 

 A H, all of a purplish red color; the hind wings are broadly 

 bordered with purplish red next to the body, and near the 

 hinder margin there is a narrow curved band of the same color; 

 within this band there is a curved black line, and on the middle 

 of the wing a large round blue spot, having a broad black 

 border and a central white dash. The fore wings of the female 

 are purple-brown, mingled with gray; the zigzag and wavy 

 lines across them are gray, and the lettered space in the middle 

 is replaced by a brown spot surrounded by an irregular gray 

 line; the hind wings resemble those of the male in color and 

 markings; the thorax and legs are purple-brown; and the abdo- 

 men is ochre-yellow, with a narrow purple-red band on the edge 

 of each ring. These moths expand from two inches and three 

 quarters to three inches and a half. 



The other Saturnia, inhabiting Massachusetts, is the Maia* 

 of Drury, or Proserpina^ of Fabricius. The moth probably 

 rests with its wings closed, like the lo moth, the fore wings 

 covering the other pair, the front edge of which seems formed 

 to extend a little beyond that of the fore wings in this position. 

 The wings are thin and almost transparent like crape; they 

 are black, and both pairs are crossed by a broad yellow-white 

 band, near the middle of which, on each wing, there is a kidney- 

 shaped black spot having a central yellow-white crescent or 

 curved line on it; the thorax is covered with black hairs on the 

 top, pale yellow hairs on the fore part, and has two tufts of 

 rust-red hairs behind ; the abdomen is black, with a few yellow- 

 ish hahs along the sides, and a patch of a rust-red color at the 

 extremity, in the males. The wings expand from two inches 

 and a half to three inches and one eighth. Saturnia Maia 

 seems to be a very rare moth in Massachusetts; I have never 



* Maia, in Mythology, was one of the seven daughters of Atlas ; they were 

 placed in the heavens after death, and formed the constellation called Pleiades. 

 t Proserpina was the wife of Pluto, the god of the infernal regions. 



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