BOMBYCIDS. 83 
and in many of the species are covered with a dense armor of scales 
arranged in colored patterns, frequently very gay, while in others the 
clothing is of more subdued tints, soft and blended. The remark- 
able power by which the virgin females attract the males, often from 
long distances (referred to in a former chapter), is, to the best of my 
knowledge, confined exclusively to this family of moths. 
The caterpillars are stout-bodied creatures, many of them densely 
clothed with hairs or spines, while others are fleshy and are adorned 
with rows of tubercles. A few are naked and smooth. 
Xyleutes robinie. One may find in the trunks of poplar, oak and 
locust trees, protruding from large circular holes, the empty shells 
of this moth. Xyleutes (the carpenter) is a very appropriate name 
for this genus of moths, as their larvee mine in the solid wood of 
Xyleutes robiniz. Female. 
trees, excavating long tunnels, increasing in diameter as the cater- 
pillars grow. Their larvee have true legs and prolegs, but are grub- 
like looking creatures. The present species is flesh color above and 
light beneath, with the head and the forward part of the body above 
covered with a hard shelly substance, brown in color. When fully 
grown the caterpillars are two or three inches long. They seem to 
prefer large trees and sometimes do considerable damage, riddling 
the trunks and carrying their tunnels out through the bark before 
changing to pup. They are said to require three years to reach 
maturity and make their thin silken cocoons in the burrows some 
distance from the opening, usually lining the tunnel with silk both 
c 
front and back of their cocoons. 
