THE BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS 



173 



FIG. 258. Luna moth, showing pectinate, or feath- 

 ered, form of moth antennae 



with a well-developed head bearing biting mouth-parts and small 

 ocelli on either side. The thorax bears three pairs of jointed legs, 

 which terminate in a single claw, and the back of the prothorax 



forms a hard shield, 

 thepronotum. The ab- 

 dominal segments are 

 very similar and bear 

 from one to five pairs 

 of short, fleshy, unseg- 

 mented false legs, or 

 prolegs, which termi- 

 nate in a circle of small 

 hooks, one pair of 

 which is always borne 

 by the anal segment. 

 The caterpillars of 

 many moths pupate in 



^tle cells , which they 

 hollow OUt in the 

 (After S. J. Hunter) ground, but most of 



them spin silken co- 



coons, within which they pupate. Some are thin, flimsy affairs, while 

 others, like those of the silkworm, contain a large amount of silk 

 and are very firmly built, forming 

 a warm home for the hibernating 

 pupae. Butterfly larvae spin no co- 

 coons, and the pupae, or chrysalids, 

 hang pendent from the food plant 

 or some near-by object, to which they 

 are sometimes lashed by a strand of 

 silk around the body. 



T-I j r ..A. i 



The order is one of the largest, 

 including over sixty-six hundred spe- 

 cies in this country, and contains 

 many of our most serious pests, while 



very few of its members are beneficial. The families are largely 

 distinguished by the wing venation, which is difficult to see, so that 

 it is exceedingly hard to arrange them in any natural and easily 



. A skipper (Eudamus ba- 



Awring^o^ed tips of 

 antenna 



(After s. j. Hunter) 



