MOTHS 87 



dense tufts (or "tussocks") of stiff, sometimes poison- 

 ous, hairs on their backs. A well-known example is 

 the " hop-dog," which is the caterpillar of the pale 

 tussock. 1 The common vapourer 2 also belongs to 

 this family. Its large-bodied female, with mere ves- 

 tiges of wings, lays her eggs all over the surface of the 

 cocoon from which she creeps, and then dies. 



..Everyone knows the showy tiger-moth, 3 and its 

 caterpillar the " woolly bear." This insect is one of 

 the family A rctiidtz, which comprises some forty British 

 species, including the " footmen " and " ermines," as 

 well as some less familiar forms. In all these moths 

 a frenulum is present, and there is a well-developed 

 proboscis. With few exceptions the larvae are hairy, 

 and pupate above ground in a rather frail cocoon. 

 In this family many of the moths and their larvae are 

 very brightly coloured. Some, at least, have been 

 shown experimentally to be examples of what is 

 called " warning coloration," the insect's conspicu- 

 ousness being associated with some character, such as 

 a nauseous flavour, which renders it distasteful to its 

 would-be destroyers. 



The great family of the owl-moths 4 includes con- 

 siderably more than 300 British members. The 

 majority of the species are dull-coloured, and fly at 

 night, resting by day upon tree-trunks or fences, 

 where they are often very difficult to discover the 

 tints of the fore-wings (which fold over and conceal the 

 hind-wings) harmonizing perfectly with the back- 

 ground against which they are seen. This "protective 

 resemblance," as it is called, is especially remarkable 

 when, as in the case of the common red-underwing,* 



1 Dasychira pudibunda. 2 Orgyia antiqua. 3 Arctia caja. 

 4 NoctuidfS. 6 Catocala nupta. 



