FAMILY SATCRN1AD.E. 231 



of the head, and one of equal lenfjtli upon the posterior extremity. It is alyo orna- 



incnfrd witli four equal cut brushes of hair ujMm its hack, situated upon the anterior 



half t>f tJU' hody, and is fringed along; its alaionien and extremities witJi long hairs. 



This caterpillar is common here in the spring, and feeds ujion the leaves of the oak and 



the horse-chestnut. 



SaturniaJac. 



BOMBYCID.E (Stephens). 



The caterpillars of this family are naked, cylindrical, and, as Afr. IlAnRis describes Ihem, 

 have hunched hacks. They are furnished with warts, which are often bristled, and may 

 be either simple or compound in form. They construct a cocoon of silk, which is placed 

 within a single leaf, or else within several drawn together so as to form a partial protection 

 against the outside ; or sometimes they are fastened longitudinally to a twig by gummy 

 matter. They are unlike the jnipa-cases of the Papiliones, which are angular, spinous, and 

 suspended by a short thread with the head downwards. 



The antennae of the moths are strongly and dt)ubly pectinated, especially in the males, 

 and their bodies are thickly covered with a dense mat of hairs or wool. The tongue is 

 rarely visible. The wings, when the moth is at rest, are extended horizontally so as to 

 exhibit both pair : they are also destitute of hooks. The wings are commonly ornamented 

 by one or more conspicuous eyelike spots. 



The insects shun the broad daylight : their eggs are large and nimierous : their cocoons 

 are composed of a strong silk, which might possibly be converted to use ; and they offer 

 this advantage, that they feed on the leaves of the common forest-trees, and hence there 

 would be no danger of the loss of silkworms from an accidental scarcity of food, occa- 

 sioned by untimely frosts, etc. 



The Satur.mad.e may not be regarded as specially injurious to the farmer, or to forest 

 or fruit-trees : at least the injury they produce is small, compared with that inflicted by 

 cankerworms, leaf-rollers, etc. which are far less conspicuous in themselves. 



The males of this family, according to Mr. Stepheks, fly well, and go abroad in the after 

 part of the day. The females fly sluggishly, probably from the weight of the abdomen. 

 The wings are gray or drab, usually of a neutral tint ; and the ornaments consist of ocel- 

 late spots, some of which exhibit the brightest of colors. 



Satitrnia maia. Corn Emperor Moth. ( Plate xxxix, figs. 2, 3, & c, d, e.) 



Wings black, with a broad band of pale yellow traversing the middle, translucent and 



thin. Forewings marked by a yellow lunar spot near the maigin of the inner black j>art 



of the base of the wings : lunar spot also upon the middle of the yellow of the pos- 



