THE GIANT SILKWORM OR CECROPIA MOTH 



Few children, with opportunity to ramble in the woods, 

 fail, sooner or later, to discover the cocoons of the splendid 

 Cecropia moth, or giant silkworm. On account of its beauty, 

 great size, and the wide range of its distribution, this moth 

 has been chosen to illustrate the interesting life-story of all 

 moths. 



Every spring brings its caterpillars, and every autumn the 

 leafless trees reveal the silken cocoons, the cradles of the next 

 generation. Nor is the emerging moth one whit less marvelous 

 to-day than in the ages gone by, when men saw in this trans- 

 formation of the crawling caterpillar into the brilliant winged 

 adult a symbol of the spiritual birth of the human soul. 



Gather, on some of your winter walks, the great gray or 

 brown cocoons you are sure to discover among the naked 

 branches of the willow, maple, cherry, or other trees and 

 shrubs, and keep them in your home. 



When the Moth Emerges from the Cocoo?i 



Watch the cocoon carefully when the warm days of May 

 or June come, or you will miss the moment when the moth 

 makes its way out of its winter chamber. Often you will 

 hear the movements of the chrysalis before the broad head and 

 shoulders are pushed through the funnel-like opening at the 

 end of the cocoon. Gradually the stout legs reach forward 

 and cling fast to any near-by object. By this means the short 

 thick body with its crumpled wings is drawn out. The wings 

 now hang limp and damp as the moth clings to a twig near 

 its cocoon, but after a time they expand rapidly until they 

 reach the full size of 6 or 6}4. inches across. As they dry, the 

 moth slowly fans them forward and back, exercising the 

 muscles, thus gaining strength for flight. (See Plate II.) 



The beautiful plumed antennae on the head, as well as the 

 size of the body, will indicate whether the moth is male or 

 female, the male having the fuller, finer plumes. He has also 



16 



