16 



of the body ; the segments, which have the spaces between them deeply indented, are 

 each adorned with six tubercles, which are sometimes tinted with orange and have a 

 small silvery spot on the middle, and from each one of which arise a few hairs. The 

 head and anterior feet are pale brown, the spiracles pale orange, and the terminal seg- 

 ment bordered by an angular band resembling the letter V, of a purplish-brown colour. 

 When mature the caterpillar proceeds to spin its cocoon within an enclosure usually 



made by drawing together some of the leaves 

 of the tree it has fed upon, some of which are 

 firmly fastened to the exterior of the structure. 

 The cocoon, fig. 7, is a tough pod-like structure, 

 nearly oval in form and of a brownish-white 

 colour, and within it the larva changes to an 

 oval chrysalis of a chestnut brown colour, re- 

 presented in fig. 8. 



Fig. 7. 



Usually the cocoons drop to the ground with the fall 

 of the leaves, and in this state the insect passes the winter. 



Late in May or early in June the prisoner bursts its 

 prison house, when there is revealed a large and most 

 beautiful moth, the male of which is well shown in fig. 9, the 

 female in fig. 10. The antennae are feathered in both 

 sexes, but more widely so in the male than in the female. 

 The wings, which measure, when expanded, from five to 

 6ix inches across, are of a rich buff or ochre yellow colour, sometimes inclining to pale 

 grey or cream colour, and sometimes assuming a deeper, almost brown colour. Towards 

 the base of the wings they are crossed by an irregular pale white band, margined with 

 red ; towards the outer margin is a stripe of pale purplish white, bordered within by one 

 of deep, rich brown. Near the middle of each wing is a transparent eye-like spot, with 

 a slender line across the centre ; those on the front wings are largest, nearly round, mar- 

 gined with yellow, and edged outside with black. On the hinder wings the spots are 

 more eye-like in shape, are margined with yellow, with a line of black edged with blue 

 above, and the whole set in a large oval patch of rich brownish-black, the widest portion 

 of the patch being above the eye- spot, where also it is sprinkled with bluish atoms. The 

 front edge of the fore wings is grey. 



Fig. 9. 



