THE PUSS MOTH. 99 
The caterpillar from which this moth is pro- 
duced is solitary, and is of a very extraordinary 
form, and has rather the appearance of a formid- 
able or venomous creature than the larva of a 
moth. It is of a bluish purple on the back, covered 
with small black punctated dots. This back ap- 
pears like a mantle in which the animal is invested ; 
the sides and belly are of a rich green, and each 
segment is provided with a small ovate rich yellow 
dot ; the head is short and thick, dark burnt umber 
brown ; it has two tails of crimson filaments at 
the extremity of the body, and these can be pro- 
truded or concealed within the base at the crea- 
ture’s pleasure ; when protruded, they haye a con- 
tinual writhing, vibratory motion; it feeds on 
willows, sallows, and poplars, and is generally 
found in great plenty where those trees grow, and 
in the month of July. 
The larva, when attacked, defends itself by 
ejecting an acrid fluid from an opening in the under 
part of the neck. 
The pupa is brown, inclosed in a hard case. 
The Puss Moth passes to the pupa state in Au- 
gust, in which condition it remains all the winter, 
and appears in the winged state about the latter 
end of May, or early in June following. It is found 
near London, in Yorkshire, and Cambridgeshire. 
