84 Lloyd's natural history. 



TfiE imperial moth, citheronia imperialis. 



{Plate ex III., Fig. 3.) 



Attacus imperialism Drury, 111. Exot. Ent., i., pi. 9, figs, r, 2 



(^773); Stoll, Suppl. Cramer, pi. 42, fig. i (1790). 

 Phalcena imperatoria^ Abbot & Smith, Lepid. Georg., ii., 



Pl- 55 (1797)- 

 Bomhyx didynia^ Palisot de Beauvois, Ins. Afr. Amer., p. 52, 



pi. 20(1855). ^ 

 Ceratocampa iuiperialis^ Duncan in Jardine's Nat. Libr., Exot. 



Moths, p. 158, pi. 17, fig. I (1841). 

 Eacles imperialism Walker, List Lepid. Ins. Brit. Mus., vi., 



p. i37i,no. I (1855). 

 Basilofia imperialism Boisduval, Ann. Soc. Ent. France (4), 



viii., p. 318 (1868); Comstock, Manual Ins., pp. 346, 347, 



fig. 425— larva (1895). 



This species is the type of Eacles (Hiibner) = Basilo7ia 

 (Boisduval). It is a large North American moth, which 

 expands from four to six inches across the wings. The 

 antennae are reddish - brown, and the head, thorax, and 

 abdomen yellow ; the two latter clouded and spotted with 

 light reddish -brown, with a purple gloss. The wings are 

 bright yellow, with numerous small reddish-brown dots, glossed 

 with purple, scattered over the surface. The fore-wings have 

 a large patch of the same colour on the hind margin, and 

 another at the base, extending nearly to the m.iddle of the 

 wing. Between them is a curved reddish-brown band, running 

 from the inner margin. The hind-wings have a purplish-brown 

 patch near the base, a brown eye centred with lighter brown 

 in the middle of the wing, and a waved purplish-brown band 

 beyond it. The under side is of the same bright yellow 

 colour, with a sprinkling of brown dots, each wing with a 



