82 Bugs, Butterflies, and Beetles 



low and black rings. The wings themselves spread 

 between five and six inches. 



There is no race suicide among the Polyphemus 

 moths. In Vol. 1 of the American Naturalist a 

 writer tells his experience in raising a million of 



The Polyphemus Miller. 



these caterpillars in one season! Mamma Poly- 

 phemus either lays her eggs one at a time, or two or 

 three together, usually sticking them to the under 

 side of leaves. The eggs are larger than the 

 Cecropia eggs and it takes about two weeks for 

 them to hatch. When the baby Polyphemus 

 hatches out of the little egg, it sometimes runs 

 around like a newly hatched chicken, with part 



