LEPIDOPTERA 85 



most conspicuous period is during the larval stage. The 

 larva feeds on several common shade trees as well as on 

 some fruit trees. It is light in color and bears several 

 characteristic tufts of hair. One row of these, down the 

 middle of the back, is composed of short white hairs growing 

 in dense tufts. Just back of the head is a pair of long 

 pencils of blackish hairs while at the posterior end of the 

 body a single similar pencil is found. Other scattered 

 hairs are all over the body. Just back of the head, between 

 the base3 of the black pencils, is a bright red band and, 

 the head itself is reddish in color. These larvae make 

 cocoons composed partly of their own hairs and attached 

 to leaves. The females are wingless and deposit their eggs 

 in masses on the outside of the cocoons where they may 

 be found during the winter and spring. 



In the New England states the two worst insect pests, 

 the Gypsy moth and the Brown-tail moth, are the common 

 representatives of this family. They are so well known, 

 where they occur, that they do not need description here. 

 They are not native American insects, but were brought 

 over from Europe and were accidentally liberated. 



53. Agaristidae and Lithosiidae. The Agaristidce and 

 the Lithosiidce are two families which compare in gen- 

 eral outline and proportions with the Noctuids. There 

 are few species, not of great importance, which may 

 attract the attention of the beginner on account of the 

 striking beauty of their forms. Among these, in the first 

 family, are the Eight-spotted Forester, black, with eight yel 

 low spots on the wings, below medium size and feeding, 

 in the larval stage, on various vines, as grape and Virginia 

 creeper; and the Beautiful Wood-nymph, a still more 

 striking species, which may be recognized from the figure. 

 (See Fig. 57, 4 and 5, page 84.) 



