LEPIDOrTEHA. 325 



which is a shrivelled and inonkoy-faocd old woman, bestowed 

 ni)on it probably on account of the shrivelled appearance and 

 dark color of the caterpillar. In its winged state, Limacodes 

 pithcciiif)!, or the hag-moth, as it may be called, is of a dusky 

 brown color; its fore wings are variegated with light yellowish 

 brown, and with a narrow curved and wavy band, of the same 

 light color, edged externally with dark brown near the outer 

 margin, and alight brown spot near the middle; the fringes 

 of all the wings are spotted with light brown; the legs are 

 covered with long hairs; the antenna), in both sexes, are slen- 

 der, almost thread-like, and not feathered. It expands from 

 nearly one inch to one inch and a quarter. 



There is a kind of caterpillar, found in July and August on 

 the balsam poplar, and sometimes on other poplars and wil- 

 lows, whose form, posture, and motions are so odd as at once 

 to arrest attention. Its body is naked, short, and thick, tapers 

 behind and ends with a forked kind of tail, which is held up- 

 wards at an obtuse angle with the rest of the body. This 

 forked tail, which takes the place of the hindmost pair of legs, 

 the others being only fourteen in number, is not used with the 

 latter in creeping, and consists of two movable hollow tubes, 

 within each of which is concealed a long orange-colored thread 

 that the insect can push out and draw in at pleasure. The 

 feet are short and small; the head is small, of a purple color, 

 and can be drawn under the front part of the first ring; the 

 body is green, with a triangular purple spot on the top of the 

 fore part, and a large diamond-shaped patch, of the same color, 

 covering the back and middle of the sides like a mantle, and 

 prolonged behind to the tail. When young, these caterpillars 

 have, on the top of the first ring, two little prickly warts, 

 which disappear after one or two changes of the skin. When 

 teazed by being touched or irritated by flies, the caterpillar 

 runs out the threads from its forked tail, which it jerks for- 

 wards so as to lash the sides of its body and whip ofl' the 

 intruder. When fully grown, it measures sometimes an inch 

 and a half in length, without including the terminal fork. 

 Caterpillars of this kind are called Centra, horned-tail, by 

 some, and Dicranura, forked-tail, by other naturalists. Early 



