By Geoffroy these insects were confounded with 

 the genus Asil/is, with which they are allied in some 

 degree ; and as the article upon that group was 

 accidentally omitted in its place, it may be conve- 

 nient, for the sake of pointing out the diH'erences 

 between the two families, to introduce it in this place. 



ASIUD^E (Leach). A family of insects of the 

 order Dipiera, the type of which is the Liniiiean 

 genus Asilus. These insects, which are very vora- 

 cious, have the proboscis exposed, but not longer 

 than the head, with very small terminal lips ; the 

 body long, the wings recumbent upon the body, and 

 the antenna: composed of three joints. They are to 

 be found in fields, gardens, and the borders of woods, 

 towards the middle of summer. They fly rapidly, 

 especially in the hot sunshine, and make a loud 

 buzzing noise. They prey upon other insects, which 

 they seize whilst on the wing, by means of their fore 

 legs, and extract their lluids by means of the four fine 

 lancet-like pieces contained within the mouth. 



The larvae reside in the ground ; they have the 

 body long and twelve-jointed, a scaly head furnished 

 with two movcable and bent hooks ; they are desti- 

 tute of legs, but make use of the hooks of the head 

 to seize hold of the substance upon which they are 

 placed, so as to enable them to draw their bod}' 

 along. They undergo their transformations in the 

 situations in which they have lived whilst larvae, 

 where they change to nymphs ; yet although they 

 quit the skin of the larvte, they do not form a cocoon 

 in which to change to pupae. The duration of their 

 existence in this state, as well as in that of the larvaa, 

 is unknown. The family comprises the genera La- 

 jikria, Asi/i/n, Qmmatius, Dasi/pogon, Dioctria, and 

 Gonypcs. Of all the genera, with the exception of 

 l)iiatiits, we possess British examples. The indige- 

 nous species of Asilus are numerous and very 

 ravenous ; one of the finest species is the Asilus 

 crabroniformis, so named from its resemblance to the 

 hornet ; we have met with it in Battersea fields. It 

 is represented in Samouelle's Compendium, pi. 9, 

 fig. 9. 



BOMBYX (Linnaeus). A genus of lepidopterous 

 insects, forming, in his system, the second of the 

 eight divisions into which the PhalencE, or moths in 

 general, were divided, and characterised, by the wings 

 being incumbent, and the antennas feathered ; the 

 first of these divisions comprised the Attaci, (which 

 see). The investigation of this order of insects has, 

 however, been greatly advanced since the days of 

 Linnaeus ; and although Mr. Haworth, in his 'cele- 

 brated work, the " Lepidoptera Britannica," united 

 the Linnaean Attaci and Bombyces into one genus, 

 Bombyjc, yet more recent authors have not only kept 

 them apart as genera, but have separated the Bom- 

 byces into two families, namely, the Arctwhc and 

 Bombycidcc, in the latter of which the genus Altacus 

 has been placed ; and in the latest works upon 

 this subject, a third family has been separated from 

 the BombycidcB, under the name of N'otodonlicUe, com- 

 posed of the prominent moths, &c. These three 

 families, together with that of the moths termed 

 swifts and goat-moths (Hepialidtx], form a great divi- 

 sion of the nocturnal Lepidoptera, to which the 

 ordinary name of feathered full bodies is applied by 

 collectors, from the large size of the body, and the 

 feathered antenna'. 



In Mr. Stephen's work on British Entomology, 

 they form a section which he has termed Lepidoptera 



B O M B Y X. 549 



potneridiana, in consequence, as he states, of many of 

 the Bombycida; commencing their aerial excursions in 

 the afternoon, when they may be observed flying 

 with great velocity, and describing large undulated 

 tracts in their course. These four families may thus 

 be briefly characterised. 



Family 1 . Hepia/idce. Antennae generally moni- 

 liform or setaceous. Spiral tongue obsolete. 



Family 2. Notodontida;. Tongue (maxillae) evi- 

 dent, but very short. 



Family 3. Arctiidic. Tongue evident, but not 

 elongated. 



Family 4. BoDibycidce. Antennae bipectinated. 

 Spiral tongue obsolete. 



It will be seen from these characters, that the 

 second and third families are separated by very 

 slight distinctions, and we accordingly find entomo- 

 logists at variance as to the limits of the groups. Our 

 arrangement corresponds with that of Mr. Stephens, 

 with the addition of the exotic genera inserted in 

 their proper situations. We shall here only observe, 

 that the footmen moths (Lithosite), which Latreille 

 places amongst the Arctiidce, are removed by Mr. 

 Stephens to the Lepidoptera nocturna, and that in his 

 last work, the puss moths (Cerura-] were formed by 

 Latreille into a distinct section, to which he gave the 

 name of Aposura, (tail without feet) from the larvae 

 having no anal prolegs. 



The families Hepialidee and Notodontida; will be 

 described in their alphabetical places, but the article 

 on the Arctiidce having been accidentally omitted, it 

 is here inserted. 



ARCTIID.E (Leach). A family of Lepidopterous 

 insects, separated from the great Linnaean division 

 Plialcena Bombyx, and nearly corresponding with the 

 section of nocturnal moths, termed Pscudo Bombyces 

 by Latreille, with the exception of the prominent 

 moths (Notodonta) which, with a few others, have 

 been formed by Mr. Stephens into his family Noto- 

 dontida;. The species introduced into this family 

 are of very diversified habits and structure, anil 

 general characters alone can be assigned to them. 

 The antennae are generally more or less strongly 

 feathered, especially in the males, the bodies some- 

 what robust, and the wings large and entire ; when 

 at rest, they are either deflexed or placed in a hori- 

 zontal position. The spiral proboscis, so striking a 

 character of the Lepidoptera;, is here so slightly 

 developed, as to be incapable of performing the duties 

 of a tongue, and is indeed occasionally completely 

 obsolete. The palpi are also generally of sruali size. 



The extremity of the body of the males is gene- 

 rally tufted, and that of the females covered with 

 a woolly mass, which at the period of oviposition, 

 is detached from the body, and serves as an envelope 

 for the eggs. The caterpillars feed on the external 

 parts of various vegetable productions ; they are 

 generally very hairy, and often ornamented with 

 coloured tufts of hair along the back. The chrysalides 

 are generally enclosed in a web. 



In this family there appear to be several distinct 

 groups, each of which is divisible into various gc; 



The first of these divisions has the wings propel, 

 for flight on botli sexes, the tongue almost rudiuientul 

 and the larvae elongate, and not forming tents. Ilore 

 belong the genera Hypogymna (the gipsey motii\ 

 Psilura (the black arches), Dasychira and Demsa of 

 Stephens (or the tussock moths). 



In the second division the females are destitute of 



