468 INSECTS Ar HOME. 



l)eecli, aud, wlieu it is full-fed, which occurs about the end of 

 September, it spins together several leaves, and within them 

 makes its cocoon. At the beginning of winter the leaves fall, 

 but the habitation which the caterpillar has made is so formed 

 that it protects the inmate from the shock of the fall, which, 

 however is but slight, as the dry, withered leaves and enclosed 

 cocoon are very light, and only come fluttering gently to the 

 ground. The perfect insect appears in June. It is not a common 

 Moth, and is never found in the northern parts of England. 



The scientific name of this insect is Stauropus fagi, and its 

 popular title, the Lobster Moth. Both names refer to the 

 caterpillars. The word Stauropus, or stake-footed, refers 

 to the great length of the legs, which almost look as if they 

 were slender sticks projecting from the larva ; and the name of 

 Lobster Moth is given to it because the larva is thought to 

 resemble a lobster rather than an ordinary caterpillar, the 

 uplifted and enlarged last segment doing duty for the claw. 



The very common and really handsome Moth, the Buff-tii' 

 {Pygcera hucephala) is drawn on Woodcut XLVII. Fig. 1, 

 page 439. The figure represents a male with its wings spread. 



The upper wings of this Moth are beautifully coloured witli 

 various shades of grey, crossed with bars and bands of different 

 browns, mixed here and there with ochreous yellow, and 

 taking a slight purplish gloss along the costal margin. At the 

 tip of each wing is a large buff blotch, marked off from the 

 i-est of the wing by two dark-brown lines enclosing a grey line 

 between them. The buff blotch has on it a few markings of 

 deeper hue. The hind wings are paler greyish ochre, and the 

 whole of the under surface is of the same colour, with the 

 exception of a dark bar crossing the lower wings diagonally, 

 and a dark hind margin to the upper wings. The thorax is 

 large, covered with dense, gold-coloured down, and nearly 

 conceals the head. 



When at rest, this Moth presents a very cm-ious aspect. 

 The wings are pressed against the body which they cover, the 

 two yellow spots at their tips exactly balancing at one end the 

 yellow thorax at the other. The large thorax itself looks \ery 

 much like a head, and on that account the specific name of 

 hucephala, or ' bull-headed,' has been given to the insect. In 



