THE MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES 



419 



of the wing to the lower 

 margin at the junction of 

 its middle and outer thirds. 

 These bars are also seen in 

 the female; and in either 

 sex are seen two small, in- 

 dependent circlets, situated 

 rather above the middle of 

 either of thesuperior wings. 



In these moths, the only 

 markings repeated on the 

 under sides of their wings 

 are the oblique bars and 

 the circlets, which latter are 

 reduced to solid, big dots. 

 Both sexes have their ab- 

 domens marked by bands 

 of the same pinkish purple 

 seen on the wings, there be- 

 ing one or two more bands 

 in the male, in which the 

 remainder of the body, 

 apart from the head, pre- 

 sents areas of this color, it 

 being nearly solid. 



There is a pair of horns 

 on each of the two leading 

 segments of the body of the 

 larva of this moth, and 

 these are proportionately 

 larger in the younger stages. 



Although the larva of 

 this Imperial moth is an 

 omnivorous feeder in the 

 plant world, it can do no 



THE SUPERIOR VIEW OF A MALE OF THE IMPERIAL MOTH 

 (UPPER CUT), WITH A SIMILAR VIEW OF A FEMALE OF THE 

 PROMETHEA (Callosamia promethea). 



Figure 2. Both of these moths belong in the collection of Mr. Wm. 

 Schaus, of the United States National Museum. The male "Spice- 

 bush" is an entirely different looking insect from the female of the 

 species. 



our fauna that is not 

 worthy of our highest ad- 

 miration, in so far as its 

 form and coloration go. 

 The markings and tints in 

 some species are simply 

 gorgeous ; and yet they pale 

 in the presence of some of 

 the moths of tropical coun- 

 tries. 



One of the most remark- 

 able experiences in captur- 

 ing moths is given by 

 Wallace in his book "The 

 Malay Archipelago." Wal- 

 lace was at Sarawak, 

 Borneo, early in December, 

 1885, and occupied a cot- 

 tage in the hills. "On one 

 side of the cottage there 

 was a veranda, looking 

 down the whole side of the 

 mountain and to its sum- 

 mit on the right, all dense- 

 ly clothed with forest. The 

 boarded sides of the cot- 

 tage were whitewashed, and 

 the roof of the veranda 

 was low, and also boarded 

 and whitewashed. As soon 

 as it got dark I placed my 

 lamp on a table against the 

 wall, and with pins, insect- 

 forceps, net, and collecting- 

 boxes by my side, sat down 



material harm, in so far as the writer's observations with a book. Sometimes during the whole evening 

 go, to the trees of the forest, or to those planted for shade only one solitary moth would visit me, while on other 



in towns and 

 cities. They do 

 not build a 

 web; only a 

 tew specimens 

 ever occur on 

 the same tree, 

 and unless one 

 knows how to 

 search for 

 them, they are 

 but rarely ob- 

 served. This is 

 true of all the 

 larvse of our 

 big moths, and 

 of not a few of 

 the smaller va- 

 rieties. On the 

 other hand, 

 there is not a 

 single moth in 



UPPER VIEW OF A FEMALE SPECIMEN OF THE IMPERIAL MOTH 



igure 3 This fine example was collected by Mr. G. Beyer, and is now in the United States Natior 

 luseum. It is a pale yellow, with markings of purplish bands and with speckles and other spottings. 



nights they 

 would pour in 

 in a continual 

 stream, peeping 

 me hard at 

 work catching 

 and pinning 

 till past mid- 

 night. They 

 came literally 

 by thousands. 

 These good 

 nights were 

 very few. Dur- 

 ing the four 

 weeks that I 

 spent altogeth- 

 er on the hill 

 I only had four 

 really good 

 nights, and 

 these were al- 



