THE BOMBYCID^E. 105 



(102.) As we believe that the three aberrant groups 

 of every circle form one, we shall, with Mr. Kirby, 

 consider the nocturnal moths as one group, resolvable 

 into three subordinate divisions; namely, 1. the Bom- 

 bycides, or spinners ; 2. the Phalcenides, or loopers ; 

 3. the Noctuides, or night moths. So little has been 

 done towards the philosophic investigation of these 

 groups, that, while their genera have been multiplied, 

 and are daily multiplying, in the artificial systems of the 

 day, the study of their affinities has been of late years 

 much neglected. We shall, therefore, merely touch 

 upon the general characteristics of these tribes, and 

 leave most of the families for future investigation. 



(103.) The BOMBYCID^E, or silk-spinning moths, 

 comprise some of the largest Lepidoptera in existence. 

 Although not a very extensive tribe, it is one of much 

 interest, as containing those insects most serviceable to 

 man ; and the only ones, excepting the bees, which can 

 be said to be cultivated or domesticated. When we 

 recollect the innumerable purposes to which silk, the 

 produce of these wonderful insects, is applied in Eu- 

 rope, and that the greatest portion of the Asiatics abso- 

 lutely depend upon its fabric for their own clothing, 

 we see that, like the ruminating quadrupeds, Providence 

 has more especially ordained them to furnish comfort 

 and convenience to man. Nor is this power confined 

 to a single species. The silkworm of Europe, although 

 originally imported from Asia, is only one out of several 

 inhabiting the Eastern world ; each producing a silk of 

 some peculiar quality, and distinguished either by its 

 fineness, colour, or durability. The most marked dis- 

 tinction, indeed, of the whole group, is their enclosure, 

 during the pupa state, in an egg-shaped case, or cocoon, 

 rendered impervious to wet or other injury by the in- 

 numerable folds of silk which the caterpillar spins around 

 it ; the whole being attached to trees or plants. In the 

 pupa itself, there is nothing peculiar ; it lies within the 

 case, unattached either by the tail or by a transverse 

 thread. The perfect insect is remarkable for the very 



