THE PUSS MOTH. 99 



The caterpillar from which this moth is pro- 

 duced is solitary,, and is of a very extraordinary 

 form, and has rather the appearance of a formid- 

 able or venomous creature than the larva of a 

 moth. It is of a bluish purple on the back, covered 

 with small black punctated dots. This back ap- 

 pears like a mantle in which the animal is invested ; 

 the sides and belly are of a rich green, and each 

 segment is provided with a small ovate rich yellow 

 dot ; the head is short and thick, dark burnt umber 

 brown ; it has two tails of crimson filaments at 

 the extremity of the body, and these can be pro- 

 truded or concealed within the base at the crea- 

 ture's pleasure ; when protruded, they have a con- 

 tinual writhing, vibratory motion; it feeds on 

 willows, sallows, and poplars, and is generally 

 found in great plenty where those trees grow, and 

 in the month of July. 



The larva, when attacked, defends itself by 

 ejecting an acrid fluid from an opening in the under 

 part of the neck. 



The pupa is brown, inclosed in a hard case. 



The Puss Moth passes to the pupa state in Au- 

 gust, in which condition it remains all the winter, 

 and appears in the winged state about the latter 

 end of May, or early in June following. It is found 

 near London, in Yorkshire, and Cambridgeshire. 



