14 BUTTERFLIES 



The characteristic features that distinguish a moth from 

 a butterfly are well illustrated in the plate opposite page 

 49, which shows one of the largest and most beautiful 

 moths in the world. It is the Cynthia moth. As may 

 be seen, the newly emerged moth is resting upon the silken 

 cocoon in which it spent its period as a pupa or chrysalis. 

 This cocoon was attached by the caterpillar to the twig 

 from which it hangs at the time it spun the cocoon. The 

 feathered antennae, the hairy legs, the thick thorax, and 

 large abdomen — all show very clearly in this side view of 

 the moth. As will be seen, the wings are large and very 

 suggestive of those of a butterfly and have the characteris- 

 tic eye-spots toward the tip and the crescent marks in the 

 middle, which are so often found on the wings of the larger 

 moths. 



Some of these large moths on cloudy days occasionally 

 fly during daylight and, by the uninitiated, they are often 

 mistaken for large butterflies. One who will notice their 

 structure, however, will readily see the characteristic 

 features of the moth. 



In the caterpillar stage, there are no hard and fast differ- 

 ences between the larvae of butterflies and those of the 

 higher moths. In each case, the insect consists of a worm- 

 like body, having a small head provided with biting jaws 

 and simple eyes or ocelli. Back of the head are the three 

 rings of the thorax, each of which bears a pair of jointed 

 legs. Back of these three rings there are a considerable 

 number of other body rings making up the abdomen, on 

 the middle of wliich there are commonly four or five pairs 

 of fleshy prolegs, not jointed but furnished at the tip with 

 fine claws. At the hind end of the body there is another 

 pair of prolegs similar in structure. 



