106 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
ti?EB. a, 1962. 
lepidopterous insects, and it measures across its expanded 
wings from four to six inches." 
"Its color is a dull ochre-yellowish, clouded somewhat 
with black in the middle of the wings. The front margin 
of the wings has a gray stripe, and near the hinder margin 
is a dusky band edged with reddish white. On each of 
the wings is a transparent eye-like spot, surrounded by 
black and yellow rings, and before the eye-spot of the 
hind wing is a large patch of blue which shades into 
black." 
"It must be a very handsome moth, judging by your 
description," I observed. 
"It is, but it is not so beautiful as the Cecropia moth, 
which is also larger than the other, its wings expanding 
sometimes to six and a half inches. They are of a 
grayish, dusky brown, and the hinder margins are clay 
colored; near the middle of each wing is a kidney-shaped 
reddish spot with a white center and a narrow black 
Longitudinal section of the mouth of a lepidopterous larva, seen 
from the middle line; m, cavity of the mouth; Ir, labrum or upper 
lip; lb, labium or lower lip; mx, maxillse; md, mandibles. 
ing of the spiracles, which at this moment have been 
partly detached; meanwhile the contractions of the worm 
are very energetic, and by them the skin is pulled off and 
of this loose skull-cap, removes it by rubbing it on a 
leaf; this done, the worm finally crawls out of its skin. 
Once out of its old skin, the worm makes a careful re- 
border; near the tip of each fore wing is an eye-like spot, 
black and with a bluish-white crescent, and there is a 
wavy, reddish band across each wing bordered on the 
inner side with white; on the fore wings next to the body 
is a curved white band on a dull red ground. The body 
on the upper side is of a dull reddish-brown color, and 
on the under side it is variegated red and white; there is 
also a number of white rings across the abdomen, and 
the body is covered with a soft, dense down." 
There is as much beauty in the Luna moth as in the 
Cecropia, but it is of more delicate character. 
The Luna extends from four and a half to five and a 
half inches across the extended wings, and each hind 
The mouth of a Lepidopterous larva seer, from below; a, antennae; 
oc, ocelli; lb, labium or lower lip; mx', mx", md, maxillse and 
mandibles. 
THE CECROPIA MOTH. 
From Harris' "Insects Injurious to Vegetation." 
pushed toward the posterior part; the skin thus becomes 
so extended that it soon tears, first under the neck, and 
then from the head. When this is accomplished, the 
view of the operation, with its head feeling the aperture 
of every spiracle, as well as the tail, probably for the 
purpose of removing any broken fragment of skin which 
wing is prolonged over an inch at the posterior angle so 
as to give the insect the appearance of being swallow- 
tailed. The color of the wings is of an exquisitely deli- 
cate pea-green, and along the front edge of the fore wings 
and across the front of the thorax, or that part of the 
body to which the wings are attached, is a brownish- 
purple stripe; the legs and outer edges of the wings are 
also of that color. On each of the wings, near the middle, 
is an eye-like transparent spot which is surrounded by 
white, red, yellow and black rings. The body of the 
insect, like that of the others, is covered with soft down, 
which on the Luna is white. 
Mr. Trouvellot experimented with all these species in 
his attempts at silk culture, but, as the Doctor stated, 
THE POLYPHEMUS MOTH, MALE. 
From Harris' "Insects Injurious to Vegetation." 
most difficult operation is over, and now the process 
goes on very rapidly. By repeated contractions the 
skin is folded toward the tail, like a glove when taken 
might have remained in these delicate organs. Not only 
is the outer skin cast off, but also the lining of the air 
tubes and intestines, together with all the chewing organs 
Side view of the head of a moth, showing the compound eyes,o; 
the antenna;, a; the palpi, p; the antlia, s. 
he at last confined his operations to rearing the Polyphe- 
mus moth. He published a very interesting description 
of these insects, and gave in it much important informa- 
tion regarding them. 
From his paper, .which is a very lengthy one, I will 
make a few extracts. He says: 
"The Polyphemus worm, like all other silk worms, 
changes its skin five times during its larval life. The 
moulting takes place at regular periods, which come 
around about every ten days for the first four moultings, 
while about twenty days elapse between the fourth and 
fifth moultings. The moulting generally takes place 
after four o'clock in the afternoon; a little before this 
time the worm holds its body erect, grasping the leaf 
with the two pairs of hind legs only; the skin is wrinkled 
and detached from the body by a fluid which circulates 
between it and the worm; two longitudinal white bands 
are seen on each side, produced by a portion of the lin- 
THE LUNA MOTH. 
From Harris' "Insects Injurious to Vegetation." 
off thei hand, and the lining of the spiracles (breathing 
tubes) comes out in long, white filaments. When about 
one-half of the body appears, the shell remains like a 
cap, inclosing the jaws, then the worm, as if reminded 
and other appendages of the head." 
Trouvellot further says that the worm "when fifty-six 
days old is fully grown, and has consumed not less than 
one hundred and twenty oak leaves weighing three- 
