LEPIDOPTEROUS INSECTS. 29 



thick, covered with scales j antennae setaceous, 

 as long as the head and trunk, with a series of 

 short transverse and obtuse dentations along the 

 interior side ; wings inclined. 



The caterpillars of this genus are very prejudicial to trees, 

 gnawing the roots, and even their substance. Preparatory to 

 imdergoing their change into the chrysalis state, they construct 

 a cocoon with earth, or the fragments of the substances which 

 they gnaw. These we have more particularly described at 

 page 107, vol. ii., and given a representation of a nest of the 

 Earth Mason Caterpillar, the Water Betony Moth. * 



Some of the caterpillars of this family present remarkable 

 forms, as that of the Puss Moth, Cerura Vinula, and another 

 called the Lobster by collectors, which is the larva of the 

 Slauropus Fagi of Germar. This curious species is some- 

 times, although rarely, found in Britain. This larva, unlike 

 almost all the rest of its tribe, has very long legs, and assumes 

 an attitude somewhat like that of the larva of the Puss Moth, 

 with its tail cocked up, and its head and feet erected in the 

 manner of a person praying. The following is a representa- 

 tion of this remarkable larva ; 



* VoL II. page 101. First Edition. 



