THE AMERICAN LAPPET-MOTH. 377 



Avhicli progressively decrease in size to the last. On the 

 fore part of the body one or two velvet-like and higiily col- 

 ored bands may be seen when the caterpillar is in motion ; 

 and on the top of the eleventh ring there is generally a lon«T 

 naked wart. When these singular caterpillars are not eat- 

 ing, they remain at rest, stretched out on the limbs of trees, 

 and they often so nearly resemble the bark in color as to 

 escape observation. From the lappets, or leg-like appen- 

 dages, hanging to their sides, they are called lappet-caterpil- 

 lars by English writers. 



Twice I have found, on the apple-tree, in the month of 

 September, caterpillars of this kind, measuring, Avhen fully 

 groAvn, two inches and a half in length, and above half an 

 inch in breadth. The upper side was gray, variegated with 

 irregular white spots, and sprinkled all over with fine black 

 dots ; on the fore part of the body there Avere two transverse 

 velvet-like bands of a rich scarlet color, one on the hind part 

 of the second, and the other on the third ring, and on each 

 of these bands were three black dots ; the under side of the 

 body was orange-colored, with a row of diamond-shaped 

 black spots ; the hairs on the sides were gray, and many of 

 them were tipped with a white knob. The caterpillar eats 

 the leaves of the apple-tree, feeding only in the night, and 

 remaining perfectly quiet during the day. The moth pro- 

 duced from it Avas supposed by Sir J. E. Smith * to be the 

 same as the European Ilicifolia^ 

 or holly-leaved lappet-moth, from 

 Avhich, hoAvever, it diifers in so 

 many respects that I shall ven- 

 ture to giA'e it another name. It 

 belongs to the genus Gastropa- 

 clia^ so called from the A^ery 

 thick bodies of the moths ; and the present species may be 

 named Americana^ the American lappet-moth (Fig. 176). 



* See Abbot's "Insects of Georgia," p. 101, pi. 51. 

 [22 Gaslropacha Americimn is C^. occidentalis Walker. — JIoeris.] 

 48 



