ATTACKING THE LEAVES. 75 



uniformly brown, and about the middle of each of the wings 

 is a nearly kidney-shaped white spot, shaded more or less with 

 red, and margined with black. A wavy dull-red band crosses 

 each of the wings, edged within with white, the edging wide 

 and distinct on the hind wings, and more or less faint on the 

 front pair. The outer edges of the wings are of a pale silky 

 brown, in which, on the anterior pair, runs an irregular dull- 

 black line, which on the hind wings is replaced by a double 

 broken band of the same hue. The front wings, next to the 

 shoulders, are dull red, with a curved white and black band, 

 and near their tips is an eye-like spot with a bluish- white 

 crescent. The upper side of the body and the legs are dull 

 red, with a wide band behind the head, and the hinder edges 

 of the rings of the abdomen white; the under side of the 

 body is also marked with white. 



During the winter months, when the apple-trees are leaf- 

 less, the large cocoons of this insect are frequently found 

 firmly attached to the twigs ; they also occur on many other 

 trees and shrubs, for in its caterpillar state it is a very 

 general feeder. The cocoon (Fig. 71) is about three inches 

 long and an inch or more broad in its widest part, pod- 

 shaped, of a rusty-gray or brownish color ; it is formed of 

 two layers of silk, the outer one not unlike strong brown 

 paper, and within this a quantity of loose silken fibres cover- 

 ing an inner, oval, closely-woven cocoon, containing a large 

 brown chrysalis. Snugly enclosed within this double wrap- 

 per, the chrysalis remains uninjured by the variations of 

 temperature during the winter. Late in May, or early in 

 June, the pupa-case is ruptured by the struggles of its occu- 

 pant, and the newly-born moth begins to work its way out 

 of the cocoon ; to lessen the labor, a fluid is secreted from 

 about the mouth, which softens the fibres; then a tearing, 

 scraping sound is heard, made by the insect working with the 

 claws on its fore feet, pulling away the softened threads and 

 packing them on each side to make a passage for its body. 

 The place of exit is the smaller end of the cocoon, which is 



