94 Lloyd's natural history. 



hind margins are light greyish-brown, intersected by a slender 

 black waved sub-marginal line. 



Near the apex of the fore-wings is a round black spot, 

 surmounted by a blue crescent. The hind-wings have a row 

 of elongated black spots within the narrow black sub-marginal 

 line. The markings of the under side resemble those of the 

 upper, but the colour is paler, and there is a white transverse 

 spot in the middle of each wing. The female is very different 

 from the male. The body is reddish-brown, and the basal 

 half of the wings is dark red, intersected by a white angulated 

 band, beyond which is a rather large triangular whitish spot 

 in the centre, and a waved band of the same colour bounding 

 the dark-red portion, and bordered on its inner side by dark 

 chocolate. The tips of the fore-wings have a round black 

 spot partly encircled with blue, and from the base a whitish 

 line runs outwards nearly to the triangular spot, and then 

 upwards to the costa. The hind margins are dark buff colour, 

 with a narrow zig-zag sub-marginal black line, within which, on 

 the hind-wings, is a row of irregular reddish spots. The under 

 side of the body is streaked with white, the colours are paler, 

 and the angular band towards the base of the fore-wings is 

 absent, whilst the light-coloured portions are dusted with grey. 



Peale (in his " Lepidoptera Americana ") gives an inte- 

 resting account of this moth, which is quoted here in full, as 

 the book is of extreme rarity : — 



** During the present year (1833) this beautiful moth will 

 be unusually abundant in the vicinity of Philadelphia, judging 

 from the number of cocoons which are to be seen hanging 

 from the branches of Sassafras {Lanrus sassafras) and Si)ice- 

 wood (Z. benzoin). The casual observer would no doubt 

 suppose them to be merely withered leaves that have withstood 

 the blasts of winter, for such they were evidently intended to 

 resemble by the little architect when preparing its narrow cell. 



