Saturniidae 



upon the wings. Both species occur in Arizona, where they 

 are not, however, nearly as common as they are in Mexico. 



Genus SAMIA Hubner 



In this genus, composed of quite large moths, characterized, 

 as are the moths of the two preceding and the next succeeding 

 genera, by having the discal cells open, we find that the spots 

 on the middle of the wings are opaque, not hyaline, as in the 

 genus Rothschildia ; and, furthermore, the fore wings are more 

 rounded and less produced than in that genus. 



(i) Samia cecropia Linnaeus, Plate VIII, Fig. i, $ ; Plate 

 I, Fig. 8, larva. (The Cecropia Moth.) 



This splendid moth, which is very common, is one of a small 

 number of our native silk-moths, which attract more or less 



FIG 37. Cocoon of Samia cecropia. (After Riley.) 



popular attention, and the spring of the year in our museums is 

 always regarded as a period in which a certain portion of the 

 time of the entomological staff will be consumed in replying to 

 the letters of persons who, having for once opened their eyes to 

 the wonders of the insect world, have sent in old matchboxes 

 through the mails specimens of this insect, generally adding the 

 information that the species is probably "new to science" or 

 "excessively rare," they having for the first time in their lives 

 noticed the moth. 



The larva feeds upon a great variety of deciduous trees and 

 shrubs, though manifesting a predilection for the Rosacece, 

 willows, maples, and the lilac. The cocoon is a familiar object. 

 The insect is found over the whole Atlantic seaboard, and ranges 

 westward to the eastern margin of the great plains. 



