278 



AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY, 



measures already recommended are applicable to this species, 

 and in fact none of the caterpillars belonging to this family need 

 ever cause serious trouble or difficulty in their control. 



Next come the CeratocampidiE , containing only a few very 

 large species whose caterpillars are more or less furnished with 

 horns, spines, or similar processes. The moths are sometimes 

 contrastingly colored and distinguished by having the antennae 

 in the male feathered for only a portion of the distance ; the ter- 

 minal third of the stalk lacking the pectinations, while towards the 

 base there are two branches to every joint. 



Occasionally we see a very large, green caterpillar, with black 

 and red blotches, and with four very long horns, yellow at the 

 base and black at the tip, on the first segments. This is an 

 insect much dreaded, and known by the attractive name of " the 

 hickory horned devil. ' ' The first part of the name is from the 

 food plant upon which it is often found, the second from its prom- 

 inent horns, and the third from its supposed evil inclinations. 

 Yet the creature is absolutely harmless, incapable of inflicting the 

 slightest injury upon even the most delicate subject, and it de- 

 pends for protection entirely upon its formidable appearance. 

 The moth resulting from it, atheroma regalis, or " regal wal- 

 nut-moth," is rare and seldom seen, flying only at night and not 

 much then, because, having no tongue, it does not feed. It is, 

 however, rather handsome, tawny brown in color, the veins 

 streaked with red and with two series of more or less distinct 

 yellow blotches. It expands from three to nearly six inches, and 

 is one of the largest of our night-flying moths. 



The species belonging to the genus Anisota are sometimes 

 much more abundant, and occasionally become troublesome on 

 oaks. I have seen acres of forest almost entirely defoliated by 

 large yellow and black-striped caterpillars, with black head, two 

 long, black filaments on the anterior, and numerous shorter 

 black processes on the other segments. These are the ' ' orange- 

 striped oak worms," which, when mature, go beneath the sur- 

 face of the ground, change to brown, roughened pupae, and in 

 spring appear as brown moths ; the A7iisota senatoria. The males 

 are much the smaller, have the fore-wings somewhat triangular 

 and pointed, a little transparent towards the middle, and with 

 a clear white spot near the centre. The females are rather 



