THE PUSS MOTH. 99 



body, and is then surrounded by a pink line with 

 black spots. The general ground colour is a rather 

 pretty green, on the back is a very long diamond- 

 shaped mark of a reddish purple colour, but varying 

 much in different specimens, and at different ages ; 

 this is surrounded by a white stripe. This arrange- 

 ment of colours is probably to a certain extent pro- 

 tective, resembling the leaf and the bark. Another 

 curious feature in the larva is the forked tail. It may 

 not be known to some of our non- entomological 

 friends that caterpillars in general have as organs of 

 locomotion six legs and ten claspers or pro-legs ; of 

 these the front six are retained by the perfect insect, 

 but the claspers never reappear after the chrysalis 

 state is assumed. Two of these claspers are quite at 

 the end of the body and are called anal claspers. But 

 here in the Puss Caterpillar they are not to be found 

 what has become of them ? They have been 

 modified into the two horns we have noticed altered 

 both in structure and function one instance in 

 nature among ten thousand of the modification of an 

 organ to perform a different office the best illustra- 

 tion being, I think, that of the two front limbs of 

 different animals, which, all formed on the same 

 general plan, serve as organs for climbing in the 

 monkeys, for flying in the bats and birds, for holding 

 and tearing in the carnivora, for simple support and 

 locomotion in the horse and elephant, and in man, 

 for a thousand delicate offices necessary for our exist- 

 ence or amusement. 



Our Puss Moth derives its scientific name from 

 this peculiarity. Towards the end of last century, 

 a Bavarian zoologist denominated it Cerura or horn- 



