458 LEPIDOPTEKA. 



and rudimentary, feed mostly on the leaves of shrubs and 

 trees ; their moths are of large size, with the hind wings 

 often crimson, scarlet, or yellow, and traversed by black 

 bands. But as these insects are not particularly interesting 

 to the farmer, any further account of them, in this treatise, 

 will be unnecessary. 



0. Geometers. (Geometrce.) 



The caterpillars of the Geometeje of Linnaeus, earth- 

 measurers, as the term implies, or geometers, span-worms, 

 and loopers, have received these several names from their 

 peciJiar manner of moving, in which they seem to measure 

 or span over the ground, step by step, as they proceed. 

 Most of these caterpillars have only ten legs ; namely, six, 

 which are jointed and tapering, under the fore part of the 

 body, and four fleshy prop-legs, at the hinder extremity ; the 

 three intermediate pairs of prop-legs being wanting. Con- 

 sequently, in creeping, they arch up tlie back while they 

 bring forward the hinder part of the body, and then, resting 

 on their hind legs, stretch out to their full length, in a 

 straight line, before taking another step with their hind legs. 

 Some of the Greometers have twelve or fourteen legs ; but 

 the additional prop-legs are so short that the caterpillars 

 cannot use theni in creeping, and their motions are the 

 same as those that have only ten legs. Some caterpillars 

 with fourteen legs, and wanting only the terminal pair of 

 prop-legs, are placed in this tribe, on account of the resem- 

 blance of their moths to those of the true Geometers. 



The latter live on trees and bushes, and most of them 

 undergo their transformations upon or in the ground, to 

 reach which, by travelling along the branches and down 

 the stem, would be a long and tedious journey to them, 

 on account of the deficiency of their legs, and the slowness 

 of their gait. But they are not reduced to this necessity j 

 for they have the power of letting themselves down from 



