LEPIDOPTERA. -JO^ 



trees, and ^^o into the ground to iindergo their transformations 

 witliout making cocoons. The rings of the chrysalis are sur- 

 rounded by little notched ridges, the teeth of which, together 

 with the strong prickles at the hinder end of the body, assist 

 it in forcing its way upwards out of the earth, just as the moth 

 is about to burst the skin of the chrysalis. The moths are 

 very easily distinguished from all the foregoing by their an- 

 tennfT, which are short, and, in the males, are feathered on 

 both sides for a little more than half the length of the stalk, 

 and are naked from thence to the tip; while those of the 

 females are threadlike, and neither feathered nor toothed. 

 The feelers (except in Ccralocampa, in which they are very 

 distinct) and the tongue are very small, and not ordinarily 

 visible. There are no bristles and hooks to fasten together the 

 wings, which, when at rest, arc not spread, but are closed, the 

 fore wings covering the hinder pair, and the front edge of the 

 latter, in most cases, extends a little beyond that of the fore 

 wings. These are some of the principal characters on which 

 I have ventured to establish this family, which is now, for the 

 first time, pointed out as a peculiar group. I believe that it is 

 exclusively American. 



One of the largest and most rare, and withal the most 

 magnificent of our moths is the Ceratocampa recalls, or regal 

 walnut-moth. Its fore wings are olive-colored, adorned with 

 several yellow spots, and veined with broad red lines ; the 

 hind wings are orange-red, with two large irregular yellow 

 patches before, and a row of wedge-shaped olive-colored spots 

 between the veins behind; the head is orange-red; the thorax 

 is yellow, with the edge of the collar, the shoulder-covers, and 

 an angular spot on the top, orange-red; the upper side of the 

 abdomen, and the legs are also orange-red. Unlike the other 

 moths of the same family, the feelers in this are distinct, cylin- 

 drical, and prominent, and the front edge of the hind wings 

 does not seem to be formed to extend beyond that of the other 

 pair when the wings are closed. It expands from five to six 

 inches. In the year 1828, I found three of the eggs of this fine 

 insect on the black walnut on the twentieth of July and the 

 fourth of August. They were just hatched at the time, and 



