98 



THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



cidce) as the well-kiiowu Silk-worm, and is, in 

 fact, one of onr very best ualive American Silk- 

 Avorras. Tlie genus yl^acws— meaning elegant — 

 was founded by Linuoeus, and our moth received 

 its specitic name from tlic same author. As 

 Cecropia was the ancient name of the city of 

 Athens, and as it has puzzled some naturalists 

 to divine why Linna'us applied this name to 

 our moth, we give the following explanation 

 by Dr. Fitch: "The great legislator of this 

 department of human knowledge, as he is ex- 

 pressively styled by Latreille, it has been fre- 

 quently remarked, was endowed with a genius 

 that few of his disciples have inherited, for 

 selecting names for natural objects, which are 

 most appropriate and happy. The idea which 

 was present in the mind of Liniireus, when he 

 named this splendid moth, we think is suffi- 

 ciently evident. The Athenians were the most 

 polished and refined people of antiquity. The 

 moths are the most delicate and elegant of 

 insects; they are the Athenians of their race. 

 Cecrops was the founder, the head of the Athe- 

 nian people. When the names of men were 

 bestowed upon cities, ships or other objects 

 regarded as being of the feminine gender, class- 

 ical usage changed these names to the feminine 

 form. The moths (Phatena) being feminine, 

 and the name of Cecrops being more euphoni- 

 ous in this form, probably induced Linnaeus to 

 change it in the manner he did. The name 

 thus implies this to be the leader, the head of 

 the most elegant tribe of insects, or in other 

 words, the first ot all the insect kind. "What 

 name more appropriate can be invented for this 

 sumptuous moth?" 



In regard to the generic name, we may as 

 well state, that the genus Attacus has beeu 

 badly cut up by modern systcmatists, as indeed 

 have most of the old Linufean genera. In bot- 

 anj it .seems to have become the fashion to 

 combine, and thus lessen the number of genera, 

 and as this course greatly t\icilitates study, in 

 the great majority of instances, it were devoutly 

 to be wished that our entomologists would em- 

 ulate the example of their botanical friends. 

 But it seems to have been the rage among cer- 

 tain entomologists to split up the old genera, 

 until, as in the present case, generic diflcrences 

 have been based on what no one, who was 

 not more anxious to further his own name 

 than the true interests of science, would con- 

 sider other than specific. The German Ento- 

 mologist Ilubner, in 1816, separated the genus 

 Attacus into several genera, of which his Sumia 

 includes our Cecropia Moth. After him, an 

 English Entomologist, Duncan, constructed the 



genus llyalophora, to receive certain large 

 moths with glassy spots in their wings (the 

 word meaning literally "glass-bearer"), and 

 had the carelessness to refer our ( lecropia Moth, 

 which has no such glassy spots, to this new 

 genus of his. More recently, Mr. A. II. Grote 

 has erected the genus Platysamia, which sep- 

 arates our Cecropia Moth from that of the 

 Arrhindy Silk-worm (.1. Cynthia) to which 

 Hiibner's original genus Samia is restricted. 

 Yet it seems to us that no one but the most 

 inveterate "genus-grinder" would ever think 

 of separating two insects which have so many 

 points of resemblance. But as our views on 

 this subject are very fully expressed in the arti- 

 cle on " Scientific Nomenclature " in the first 

 number of the present volume of the American 

 Entomologist, we ■will not weary the reader 

 with this rather unprofitable subject. Opinions 

 will dift'er, and every 

 man will be properly 

 judged by posterity 

 for the opinions which 

 he held while living; 

 and it is only neces- 

 sary to state that in 

 order to simplify the 

 arrangement, we have 

 followed Harris's ex- 

 ample, in using the 

 older and more com- 

 monly known generic 

 names. 



During the winter 

 time, the large co- 

 coons of this insect 

 (Fig. 60) may be 

 found attached to the 

 twigs of a variety of 

 dift'erent shrubs and 

 trees. We have our- 

 selves found them up- 

 on Apple, Cherry, 

 Currant, Barberry, 

 Hazel, Plum, Hicko- 

 ry, Blackberry, El- 

 derberry, Elder, Elm, 

 Lilac, Red-root, Ma- 

 ple, Willow and Hon- 

 ey-locust. This co- 

 coon tapers both 

 ways, and is invari- 

 ably fastened longi- 

 tudinally to the twig; it is formed of two 

 distinct layers, the outer one, which is 

 loose, wrinkled, and resembles sti-ong brown 

 paper, covering an iuuer oval cocoon com- 



