88 BRITISH INSECTS 



the hind-wings are showily coloured. A fairly good 

 type of the Noctuida is the well-known cabbage -moth, 1 

 whose smooth-skinned larva, which has ten prolegs, 

 burrows into the soil before changing to the pupa. 

 But the form of the larva and its habits varies a good 

 deal in the different sub-families. For instance, the 

 caterpillar of the beautiful burnished-brass-moth 2 has 

 a " semi-looping " gait, its prolegs being reduced to 

 three pairs ; while when full grown it spins a cocoon of 

 white silk among the leaves of its food-plant the 

 stinging-nettle. 



The family Notodontida, of which we have twenty- 

 five species, is made up of the puss- and kitten-moths, 

 the prominents, and their allies. The caterpillars are 

 often curiously shaped, without anal prolegs as in the 

 case of the puss-moth, 3 whose life-history is portrayed 

 on Plate II. ; but some of the species e.g., the buff- 

 tip 4 have larvae of ordinary form, with the usual ten 

 prolegs. Moreover, whereas the buff-tip caterpillar 

 merely buries itself in the soil before changing to the 

 pupa, some kinds spin elaborate cocoons. The cocoons 

 of the puss-moth and its nearest relatives are hard, 

 wood-like structures attached to the bark of trees. 



We have already observed in certain of the Noctuid 

 larvae a tendency to dispense with some of the normal 

 prolegs. In the family Geometridcz (the carpets, pugs, 

 and their kindred) almost all the larvae, of which we 

 have about 270 species, have got rid of all but two 

 pairs of prolegs these being at the hinder end of the 

 body. Consequently, the creature moves by first 

 grasping a twig or leaf with its six thoracic legs, and 

 then bringing its prolegs forward until they nearly 



1 Mamestra brassica. 2 Plusia chrysitis. 



3 Cerura vinula. * Phalera bucephala. 



