264 CATERPILLARS AND THEIR MOTHS 



willow, elm, hickory, white birch, poplar, chestnut, 

 walnut, beech, linden, hazel, apple, pear, wild-cherry, 

 weigelia, pine, and wild grape, and some of our larvae 

 grew up on wistaria. Rose and quince are given as 

 their food-plants, but we have not tried them. With 

 this variety of possible food and the great number of 

 eggs laid by each female moth, the species would over- 

 run the land if it were not held in check by parasites, 

 diseases, and possibly by birds. We have not seen 

 birds touch polyphemus, but I am told that robins eat 

 the caterpillars. 



Ichneumonid, tachinid, and braconid flies sting the 

 larvae, and these are also subject to the disease of the 

 tubercles which kills so many lima caterpillars. We 

 have lost scores by this disease, and have found in the 

 woods many so diseased. 



Our caterpillars began to spin on the fiftieth day 

 after hatching, and spun very tough, white, oblong 

 cocoons with round ends. The cocoons were covered 

 with a white powder like lime, and were spun among 

 leaves. Occasionally out of doors we find apohjphemus 

 cocoon spun against a twig, but not often. Usually 

 they are spun inside a bent leaf or two and fall with 

 them, or the caterpillar crawls down to the ground and 

 spins among leaves. 



Folyphenms is single-brooded, but the moths straggle 

 along so that caterpillars may be found from June till 

 late October in Massachusetts. They are very pretty 

 caterpillars, and those with bright red, lustrous tuber- 

 cles are specially clean-looking and attractive. 



We were walking on a country road once, years ago, 

 with our boxes full, and had in plain sight a twig with 



