204 Some account of an Insect that 



black spots upon it, and could be drawn almost entirely 

 within tiie first segment, which formed a kind of hood over 

 it. A few slender hairs were scattered over the body, and 

 were most conspicuous on the second and on the last ring. 

 These insects were sluggish and slow in their motions, and, 

 when touched, curled their bodies sideways, lost their foot- 

 ing, and fell to the ground ; or, more rarely, they let them- 

 selves down a short distance, and hung suspended, by a 

 silken thread. 



On the fourteenth of August, some of the largest, which 

 were confined in a box, refused their food ; and, on the 

 next day, they made their cocoons, in the angles of the box, 

 and on the leaves and stalks wherewith they were sup- 

 plied. The youngest, however, did not spin their cocoons 

 till the end of the month. This kind of cocoon is formed 

 of very fine silk. It is of a yellowish white color, oblong 

 oval shape, slightly convex above, and nearly flat below, 

 and is firmly fastened to the spot on which it rests. 

 Though almost as thin as writing paper, it is opaque, and 

 very close and tough in texture. Soon after the cocoon 

 was finished, the caterpillar, within it, changed to a shin- 

 ing brown chrysalis, very small, however, compared with 

 the size of the caterpillar and of the moth. The insects 

 remained within their cocoons, without further change, 

 throughout the winter. 



On the first of May, moths, similar to those already de- 

 scribed, began to come out of the cocoons that were kept 

 in the house, and others continued to make their escape till 

 the twentieth of the month. In doing this, the chrysalis 

 first opened one end of the cocoon, and worked its way 

 partly out of it ; after which a rent appeared on the fore- 

 part of the chrysalis, through which the moth drew its 

 body and wings. These insects were forced to come out 

 before their time, by being kept in the house; for they have 

 not yet left their places of concealment abroad, and proba- 

 bly will not finish their transformations, and appear in the 

 winged form upon the vines, till the month of June. 



Although the history of the American Procris is not yet 

 finished, enough of it has been ascertained to guide us in 

 our proceedings, should this new-comer increase and mul- 

 tiply on our cultivated vines. Many of the moths, in their 

 slow and short flights, may be caught upon the wing, by 

 sweeping a bag-net of gauze over the vines. But, to the 



