MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. 441 



unequal spurs at the end, and the hind tibiae a pair at the end and another pair in the 

 middle. A few species have the hind tibise densely clothed with hair-like scales, while 

 some have a long tuft of hairs lying in a groove along the inside of the hind tibi* in 

 the males. 



The wings are comparatively wide ; and in many species the costa of the fore wings 

 has a sinuous outline, causing the insect to appear somewhat bell-shaped when the 

 wings are closed. They often have tufts of scales over their surfaces arranged more 

 or less in lines, and a few species have a deep excavation near the middle of the 

 anterior margins or costa of the fore wings. The males of many species have the 

 basal portion of the costa of the fore wings folded over on the upper side. The hind 

 wings of some of these moths have, on the upper side, long hairs on the basal part of 

 the median vein, while others are without them ; and a few species have a separate 

 membraneous appendage attached to the anal border of the wing. 



The caterpillars almost universally feed on the leaves of plants, rolling them up 

 and feeding within, but when disturbed wiggle about in the most lively manner and 

 escape quickly, letting themselves down by a thread of silk, and remaining till the 

 danger is past. It is possible that this habit has been acquired in avoiding the attacks 

 of insect-feeding birds, which tear the rolled leaves in pieces for the enclosed caterpil- 

 lars. A very few are gregarious in their habits, feeding under a tent of silken threads 

 which the community spin over the leaves. Some are borers in the stems of plants, 

 others live in fruit, and one species, Carpocapsa saltitans, lives in the seeds of a species 

 of Euphorbia in Mexico. If an infested seed be placed in the palm of the hand, the 

 heat will affect the caterpillar so much that it will cause the seed to jump, sometimes 

 to the height of a quarter of an inch, hence they are called " jumping-beans." 



Teras cavdana, a singular moth, which is comparatively common in Europe, 

 expands about three-fourths of an inch, and is of a reddish-brown color. The fore 

 wings are remarkable for their falcate outer margin, and the singular excavation on 

 the middle of the costa. The caterpillar is green with a yellow head, and the body 

 has the usual fine hairs from tubercles on the segments. It feeds on Salix caprea. 



Cacoecia rosaceana is a common and wide-spread species in Korth America, having 

 been reported from Labrador to Texas and from the Atlantic 

 to the Pacific. It is subject to great variation, and has numer- 

 ous food-plants. The caterpillars, which are green with black 

 heads and thoracic shields, feed singly in the rolled leaves of 

 apple, peach, cherry, plum, and numerous other jjlants. The 

 moth expands an inch or more, and is cinnamon brown with a ^^"' rosocTanar"" 

 dark-reddish brown basal patch and with an oblique central 



band and spot on the costa before the apex. The hind wings are deep ochreous on the 

 outer part, but fuscous within. 



The cherry-tree Tortrix ( Cacoecia cerasivorana), common everywhere east of the 

 Rocky Mountains, has the remarkable habit of living, while in the caterpillar state, in 

 a community comprising all which hatch from one lot of eggs. They enclose the 

 leaves on the end of a branch in a web of silken threads, which they extend as more 

 food is needed. The blackish excrements are deposited in a large dense mass inside of 

 the web, and at maturity the ochre-yellow caterpillars transform within this black 

 mass. When about to emerge, the pupae work themselves partially out in order that 

 the moths may escape with ease. After the sexes pair, the females lay their eggs for 

 the next year's generation. They feed on the leaves of wild and cultivated cherry. 



