74 Bugs, Butterflies, and Beetles 



alis inside the cocoon is nervous or impatient, and 

 kicks against the confinement in its cell, wiggles 

 and squirms in its prison, so that a lot of cocoons 

 stored away in a box will sometimes produce a 

 noise like that made by shrews, star-nosed moles, 

 or white-footed mice, when they are searching 

 among the dried leaves for food. 



Like all the millers or moths, the Luna has 

 many enemies; but I was surprised to find that 

 the dragon-fly or devil's darning needle was one 

 of them. A few years ago I saw a big devil's 

 darning needle make a dash and capture a big 

 Luna miller while the latter was in flight. 



The cocoon of the Luna has not the loose end 

 possessed by the cocoons of some of the other big 

 millers. The Luna is sealed inside its cell; but it 

 possesses a special chemical fluid wliich it uses for 

 softening the threads of which its prison is made, 

 so that it can work its way through the soft spot. 



The family to which the Luna belongs, as a 

 rule, spreads its wings when at rest. Very few 

 of them fold or turn their fore-wings backward so 

 as to cover their hind-wings and their bodies. None 

 possess the hook-and-eye arrangement for holding 



