454 



NATURAL inSTOnr OF ARTHROPODS. 



The puss moths are noticeable from the fact that the abdomen of the larvaj ends 

 in two long tails. The)' are briylitly colored. That of the European Staurojnis fagi 

 is a very curious form, remarkable for the great length of its thoracic legs, which are 

 nearly as large, proportionatel}-, as those of the adult. Our Cerura borealis, the larva 

 of which closely resembles that of the European Ilarpyia vinuU in the disposition 

 of its markings, feeds upon various poplars and willows. The moth, when at rest, 

 always extends the first jiair of its liairy legs beyond the head. 



Yia.iil. — a, HaipDMvinuh, 6, cocoon, c, larva, d, Ib^iyo, of btauropu:, fagi. 



The next group contains a number of forms with stout bodies which are covered 

 with quantities of long and closely set hairs, giving a very woolly appearance. The 

 tent-caterpillar, Clisiocampa, is well known, forming its silken webs in the branches 

 of neglected orchards. These webs are spun by the caterpillars, and sometimes harbor 

 three or four hundred of these black and yellow larva?. When the caterpillars are not 

 feeding, they may be found sheltered by the tent ; but, when im]ielled by hunger, each 

 one, as he leaves the house, spins a silken thread so that he may find his way back 

 after the demands of appetite are answered. Allied to the tent-catei'pillar are the 

 genera GastrojKiclia and Tohjpe., both represented in our fauna. 



Eacles imperialis, a yellowish moth with brownish or purplish markings, is one of 

 our largest and most striking bombyeids, and, together with the genera Anisota and 

 Jlyperchiria, forms a scries of forms many of which, like the Attaci, have the wings 



ornamented ^^-ith eye-like spots, 

 but can readily be distinguished 

 fr(im it by the fact that the hind 

 wings extend but little behind the 

 abdomen. 



The lo Moth, Hyper ch iria io, 

 one of the most showv and beau- 

 tiful of the ISTorth American spe- 

 cies, has an exjianse of wings of 

 about three inches. I he males 

 are of a deep-yellow color, Vthh two jjurplish-brown, Avavy lines across the outer part of 

 the wings, a zigzag line near the base, and a few spots of the same color on the end of 



