HANDBOOK OF BUTTERFLIES. ^ 



smaller than the Puss Moth. The fore wings are varied with 

 grey and brown, and there is a large pale yellowish spot at the 

 tips; the hind wings and abdomen are yellowish-white. Its 



Puss Moth (Centra 



downy larva, striped alternately with black and yellow, is very 

 common on various trees. 



Our only British representative of the family SaturniidcB is the 

 Emperor Moth (Saturnia Pavonia-minor). It is a broad- 

 winged moth, measuring nearly three inches in expanse. The 

 fore wings of the male are varied with dark grey, and the hind 

 wings are reddish-yellow ; in the female all the wings are pale 

 grey. In both sexes there is a large black eye in the middle of 

 the wing, with a whitish crescent in the middle, and surrounded 

 by yellow and black rings. The green larva, with red warts 

 set with short black hairs, is common on heath. 



The Lasiocampidtz comprise a number of large brown, reddish, 

 or yellowish moths, with thick hairy bodies. The larvae are 

 also hairy ; and as in the SaturniidcB^ the pupa is always 

 enclosed in a tough silken crown. The three commonest species 

 are the Oak Eggar, the Drinker, and the Lackey. The Oak 

 Eggar (Lasiocampa Quercus) is about the size of the Emperor 

 Moth ; and as is the case in most butterflies and moths, the 

 female is rather larger than the male. The male is chestnut 

 coloured, with a yellowish band, suffused on the outside, beyond 

 the middle, and the female is yellowish. The larva feeds on 

 oak, heath, etc. The male flies by day so rapidly that it is 

 impossible to run it down ; but the moth is easily bred from the 

 larva ; and a newly emerged female, carried in a box in the 

 collector's pocket, will entice any males within reach which may 



