LOBSTER MOTH. 467 



Though not so strikingly handsome an insect as its larger 

 relative, the Sallow Kitten is really a pretty Moth. The 

 upper wings are greyish white, traversed by a number of 

 black-grey streaks arranged as seen in the illustration, one or 

 two of them being accompanied by a line of yellow. The 

 lower wings of the male are pure white, clouded with grey and 

 having a few blackish spots, while those of the female are 

 mostly dusky. The thorax is coloured like the upper wings, 

 and is crossed transversely by three bars of black and yellow. 



The larva is shaped and coloured very much like that of the 

 Puss Moth, but may be recognised by the shape of the body 

 with its deeply forked end. When the larva is full-fed, it 

 spins a cocoon much like that of the Puss Moth, and the 

 perfect insect appears in June. 



On Woodcut LII. Fig. 2, is drawn a Moth which in the 

 perfect state does not attract much attention, but which, as a 

 larva, is one of the most extraordinary beings that England 

 possesses. In fact, supposing that the creature were not known, 

 no artist would dare to figure so bizarre an object ; for if he did 

 so, all the entomologists would be in arms against him, and 

 say that such a creature could not possibly exist. 



The shape and markings of the insect can be seen by refer- 

 ence to the illustration, and as the wings are merely grey- 

 brown marked with a darker tint,' they need not be described 

 in detail. The figure represents a male. The female is 

 similarly coloured, but is larger, and her antennae are thread- 

 like and without the feathering. 



Now we come to the larva, vv^hich is shown at Fig. a of the 

 same illustration. The three remarkable characteristics of this 

 larva are the enormously long legs, so unlike the short, feeble 

 legs of most caterpillars ; the high and pointed humps of the 

 middle segments, and the enormously developed thirteenth, or 

 last segment, with its double, club-shaped horns. 



The attitude in which it is represented is that which it 

 assumes when at rest. The colour is reddish-brown, profusely 

 spotted with minute dots of a paler hue, and there are two 

 slight blackish stripes along the back, and a grey stripe 

 between them. There are also a few black marks on the sides 

 of the body. This extraordinary caterpillar feeds on oak and 



H H 2 



