THE EMPEROR 65 



PLATE XXXIV 

 THE EMPEROR (3 and 4) 



This is one of the handsomest of all our British 

 moths, and the caterpillar is even more beautiful 

 than the moth. For it is of the brightest apple- 

 green colour, with ten or eleven velvety black 

 rings round its body; and every ring has a 

 number of raised pink spots upon it, with six 

 black bristles springing from each spot, and 

 spreading outwards in the form of a star. You 

 may often find it on bramble-leaves early in 

 September, and it also feeds on blackthorn, 

 willow, and heath. 



When this lovely caterpillar has reached its 

 full size, it spins a most curious cocoon, shaped 

 something like a little flask, with a number of 

 bristles inside the entrance arranged in such a 

 way, that while the moth can crawl out quite 

 easily when it is ready to hatch, none of its 

 enemies can crawl in. In this cocoon the chrysalis 

 lies all through the winter, and the moth makes 

 its appearance in April, when you may often see 

 it flying about in the sunshine on heaths and 

 commons. The male is rather smaller than the 

 female, and you can always recognise him by 

 his brighter colouring, and his beautifully plumed 

 feelers. 



