412 INSECTS. 



After the phalaenae issue from their last covering, some of them 

 are destitute of wings : these are the females of certain kinds, 

 who, instead of wings, have only short protuberances, altogether 

 unfit for the purpose of flying. They have the appearance of 

 large creeping animals of a different order, and can only be recog- 

 nised for moths by the shape of their antennas, which are similar 

 to those of the males, and by those scales with which the body of 

 these animals is covered. 



Though the moths do not in general fly by day, yet it is the 

 light which, at evening, attracts them into the dwellings of man : 

 then it is that they are seen entering the rooms, and fluttering 

 around the candles, where they often meet with a painful death. 

 This fondness for light has suggested to the curious a method of 

 catching moths, by carrying a lantern into a bower, around which 

 they all Hock, when thp greater part may be led into captivity. 



Out of this almost innumerable tribe of insects we can select 

 but a few specimens. 



1. P. mori. Common silk-worm. Wings pale, with three 

 obsolete brown streaks. We have already made some observa- 

 tions on the produce of this curious moth, and have now only to 

 remark, that in its native state it inhabits China, on the mulberry 

 tree, whence its specific name, and was introduced into Europe in 

 the reign of the emperor Justinian : it is the fine silky threads 

 which compose the follicle of the pupe, that are converted into 

 that valuable article of commerce and luxury, in our own country 

 denominated silk. This species belongs to the partition bombyx : 

 the larve is characterised by having the tail naked and whitish; 

 the pupe is folliculate, reddish-brown. 



2. P. atlas. Wings foliate, varied with yellow, white, and fer- 

 ruginous, with a transparent spot on each, that on the upper pair 

 with a contiguous smaller one. This is the largest and most splen- 

 did of all the phalaenae yet known: the extent of its wings mea- 

 sures not less than eight inches and a half. It is a native of both 

 the Indies; and occasionally varies in size and colours. It 

 belongs to the partition bombyx : the larve is verticillate, with 

 hairy tubercles, and spins a web of very strong yellowish silk. 



3. P. luna. Wings tailed, both surfaces alike ; colour elegant 

 pea-green, with a transparent lunule eye on each wing; the upper 



