Marvels of the Universe 



135 



A GIANT SILK-MOTH 



■ BY W. F. KIRBY, F.L.S. 



The Cecropia Moth is the largest and handsomest moth found in the Eastern United States and 

 Canada, where it is far from uncommon. It is one of the Eyed Silkworm Moths, of which the only 

 British representative is the Emperor Jloth, which is a fine insect, as British moths go, but is not 

 more than half the size of the Xorth American moth, which often measures six inches in expanse ; 

 though this again is equally surpassed by the great Indian Atlas Moth, which belongs to the same 

 famil}-, and is one of the largest moths known, sometimes expanding to nearly a foot. 



Nearly all the moths of this group have short, stout, downy bodies, and a double row of 

 appendages on the feelers, which are very large in the male, but are much shorter in the female. 

 Such feelers are called pectinated, or comb-like, and, as in the present case, almost equally resemble 

 a feather when these appendages are well developed. The feelers are the seat of some sense (probably 

 analogous to smeU) which enables the males to seek out the females at a distance (in some cases) 

 almost of miles. 



In most moths of this group each of the ample wings is ornamented in the centre with a 

 conspicuous spot, which is sometimes round and opaque, as in the British Emperor Moth, and some- 

 times crescent-shaped and opaque, as in the Cecropia Moth ; while in many species it is as 

 transparent as glass or talc ; irregular in shape in the Atlas Moth, or round in various other species. 



The Cecropia moth is dark brown, with an irregular white band and white crescents on the 



Photo hy\ 

 TKis Nofl 



h An 



ican caterpillar is four 

 blue and yell 



THE GIANT SILKWORM. 



nches long, coloured with shades of green and blue The thicU spines are red, 

 ow, with aharp black bristles from the knobbed ends. 



