ATTACKING THE LEAVES. 73 



the antennae are gray, those of the male doubly feathered be- 

 low, those of the female with two rows of minute teeth only ; 

 the front thighs are tawny yellow, the feet blackish brown. 

 When the wings are expanded they measure about one and 

 a quarter inches across. The moth flies only at night. 



In the Northern United States and Canada there is only 

 one brood of this insect in the season, but in the South it is 

 frequently double-brooded, the first brood of the larvae ap- 

 pearing in June, the second in August. It is a very general 

 feeder ; besides the apple, it also eats the leaves of the plum, 

 cherry, pear, hickory, ash, elm, willow, oak, beech, button- 

 wood, grape, currant, blackberry, raspberry, and clover. 



From their birth, the web-spinning habits of these larvae 

 promptly lead to their detection, and as soon as seen they 

 should be removed by cutting off the twig or branch and 

 destroying it ; if beyond ordinary reach, the branch may be 

 cut off by attaching a pair of priming-shears to a pole and 

 pulling one handle with a string. As they remain constantly 

 under the web for so long a period, the removal of the branch 



insures in most instances the destruction of 



PIG. 69 

 the whole colony. 



No parasites have yet been recorded as 

 preying on them, but many carnivorous in- 

 sects devour them. The Spined Soldier-bug, 

 Podisus spinosus (Dallas) (Fig. 69), attacks 

 them, piercing their bodies with its beak 

 and sucking them empty. This friendly insect is represented 

 in the figure at 6, with one pair of wings extended, the other 

 closed ; at a, a magnified view of the beak is given. 



No. 28. The Cecropia Emperor-moth. 



Platysamla Cecropia (Linn.). 



Among the many beautiful insects native to this country, 

 there are none which excite more delight and astonishment 

 than the Cecropia moth. Its size is enormous, measuring, 

 when its wings are spread, from five to seven inches across, 



