THE REGAL WALNUT-MOTH. 399 



with thorny points, of which those on the second ring, and 

 sometimes also those on the third, are long, curved, and 

 resemble horns. These caterpillars eat the leaves of forest- 

 trees, and go into the ground to undergo their transforma- 

 tions without making cocoons. The rings of the chrysalis 

 are surrounded by little notched ridges, the teeth of which, 

 together with the strong prickles at the hinder end of the 

 body, assist it in forcing its way upwards out of the earth, 

 just as the moth is about to burst the skin of the chrysalis. 

 The moths are very easily distinguished from all the fore- 

 going by their antennae, which are short, and in the males 

 are feathered on both sides for a little more than half the 

 length of the stalk, and are naked from thence to the tip ; 

 while those of the females are threadlike, and neither feath- 

 ered nor toothed. The feelers (except in Ceratocampa, in 

 which they are very distinct) and the tongue are very small, 

 and not ordinarily visible. There are no bristles and hooks 

 to fasten together the wings, which, when at rest, are not 

 spread, but are closed, the fore wings covering the hinder 

 pair, and the front edge of the latter, in most cases, extends 

 a little beyond that of the fore wings. These are some of 

 the principal characters on which I have ventured to estab- 

 lish this family, which is now, for the first time, pointed out 

 as a peculiar group. I believe that it is exclusively Ameri- 

 can. 



One of the largest and most rare, and withal the most 

 magnificent of our moths, is the Ceratocampa regalia (Fig. 

 194), or regal walnut-moth. Its fore wings are olive-col- 

 ored, adorned with several yellow spots, and veined with 

 broad red lines ; the hind wings are orange-red, with two 

 large irregular yellow patches before, and a row of wedge- 

 shaped olive-colored spots between the veins behind ; the 

 head is orange-red ; the thorax is yellow, with the edge of 

 the collar, the shoulder-covers, and an angular spot on the 

 top, orange-red ; the upper side of the abdomen, and the 

 legs, are also orange-red. Unlike the other moths of the 



