SNAIL-FEET. 



FAMILY V. THE COCHLIOPODID^. 



38. The Triangle Moth (Limacodes Asellus). \ 39. The Festoon Moth (Limacodes Testudo). 



THE FIFTH FAMILY of Moths is called Cocli- 

 Uopodidce, from two Greek words, signifying 

 " snail " and " foot," because the caterpillar 

 resembles a snail, crawling along the surface 

 of the leaf on which it feeds. The flat part 

 of a snail on which it crawls is called the 

 "foot :" the feet of these caterpillars are -re- 

 tractile, so when one of them is turned on its 

 back, the legs appear to be withdrawn into 

 its stomach ; but when again placed in its 

 natural position, the feet are protruded, and 

 take firm hold of the leaf. The caterpillars 

 spin a silken cocoon among the oak trees, 

 and in this change to a chrysalis. 



Female. 



Male. 



38. The Triangle Moth (Limacodes Asellus). 



38. THE TRIANGLE MOTH. Fore wings of 

 the male dark brown, with two oval black 

 spots, scarcely perceptible in some specimens ; 

 hind wings almost black, unspotted ; fore 

 wings of the female yellow-brown, unspotted ; 

 hind wings dark brown, unspotted 5 the fe- 

 male is considerably larger than the male. 

 The caterpillar is something like a wood-louse, 

 and sits close on the surface of the leaves of 

 the oak on which it feeds ; it is of a yellow- 

 green colour, with a yellow stripe down the 

 middle of the back, and has a number of 

 shining pimples of a pinkish hue : it feeds in 

 August and September, and spins up in 

 October ; it remains in the chrysalis state all 

 the winter and spring, and the Moth comes 

 out at Midsummer. It is only found in the 

 New Forest in Hampshire, where a collector 

 of the name of Turner has taken it in immense 

 quantities. (The scientific name is Limacodes 

 A self us. 



Male. Female. 



39. The Festoon Moth (Limacodes Testudu). 



39. THE FESTOON MOTH. Fore wings of 

 the male yellow-brown, with two narrow brown 

 stripes : the first is oblique, running from the 

 middle of the costal margin to near the base 

 of the inner margin ; the second is quite 

 straight, appearing to cut off the tip of the 

 wing: between these two, on the inner margin, 

 is a short oblique stripe of the same colour ; 

 hind wings dark brown, unspotted. Female 

 larger ; fore and hind wings both inclining to 

 clay-yellow. Antennae of both sexes yellow ; 

 head and thorax clay- yellow, body browner. 

 The caterpillar feeds on the oak from July to 

 September ; its shape is something like that 

 of a wood-louse, but it still more resembles 

 those common little sea-shells which are called 

 Chitons : it is of a more dusky green colour, 

 with a broad stripe down the back of a paler 

 hue, and along each side of this is a row of 

 shining pimples, rather pink. In October it 

 spins on one of the oak-leaves a tough cocoon, 

 brown outside, but most delicately white and 

 silken inside ; in this the caterpillar remains 

 unchanged through the winter, but early in 

 spring it changes to a yellow-brown chrysalis, 

 which turns to a Moth in June ; the female 

 is very sluggish, sitting on the leaves of the 

 oak, and when shaken into a net it drops like 

 a little lump of yellow clay, and remains 

 quite motionless, feigning death. AVe have 

 repeatedly taken it in the woods of Kent, 

 but never saw it fly ; the male on the contrary 

 flies rapidly through the woods in hot sun- 

 shine, generally against the wind and always 

 in a zigzag direction. (The scientific name 

 is Limacodes Testudo.) 



