AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
»$ 'cpt, 
Fi«. i._WALNUT MOTH, OR BUTTERFLY — (Ceratocampa regalis.) 
We present, above, a life size engraving of the 
largest of the moth species yet found in this sec¬ 
tion of the country. One other species, the Sa- 
turnia cecropia has broader wings we believe, but 
they are not quite so long. The caterpillar, from 
which this butterfly is produced is shown in its 
full-grown, natural size, in fig. 2 below, and will 
be readily recognized by many persons who have 
seen it feeding upon black-walnut, butternut, hick¬ 
ory, and other trees of similar character. These 
monster butterflies, which measure nearly half a 
foot from tip to tip of the wings are frequently 
seen in early Summer, especially where the above 
named trees abound. This species is not very 
prolific,diowever, and the butterflies are compar¬ 
atively rare, and on this account, perhaps, we 
have never seen a sketch of it, we believe. 
The drawings and following description have been 
prepared for the American. Agriculturist , by Mr. 
mens which may be obtained by those, especial¬ 
ly, who live in the vicinity of walnut trees. We 
shall be glad to receive notes of further observa¬ 
tions not only upon this, but upon other insects 
which have not as yet been fully described in 
scientific works. 
The Moth or Butterfly [fig. 1).—The color of the 
upper wings is a blackish gray, with frequent yel¬ 
low spots, and stripes, some of them of consid¬ 
erable size. The veins are iron-red. The lower 
wings are of iron-red color and spotted similar¬ 
ly to the upper ones. The general color of the 
body is also iron-red ; two yellow stripes run 
from the head down the back of the thorax or 
chest; and upon the abdomen are nine yellow 
cross stripes. The male and female are alike in 
color and general form ; the female has narrow¬ 
er antennae (feelers); is generally larger than the 
male, and has proportionally a thicker body. 
Our sketch is from a female specimen. This 
moth is generally seen on the wing only at night. 
They are most easily caught when just issuing 
from the pupa (a, fig. 3) ; they remain for a time 
on shrubs or the trunks of the trees, which they 
do not leave until they have obtained their full 
size and strength. As with all moths or butter¬ 
flies, the development is very rapid. 
The Caterpillar (fig. 2) is the most attractive 
and beautiful state of this insect. Its size, as 
shown by the engraving, is enormous. The fe¬ 
male caterpillar attains the weight of 2£ ounces 
here at the north, and it is described to be much 
larger at the south. A specimen in Texas was 
reported to have weighed fifteen ounces !—an ex¬ 
C. Gunther, from specimens obtained in this vi¬ 
cinity, and as above remarked, the engravings 
show the actual or life size of the full grown in¬ 
sects. It will be a pleasant exercise for the read¬ 
ers to preserve this page, if they do not keep 
their numbers entire, and next Spring compare 
the drawings and descriptions with living speci¬ 
aggeration most probably. The whole body is di¬ 
vided into a series of indentations and elevations, 
or rings, and has a general green or greenish 
color. The elevations are marked with pale 
blue stripes. Upon each elevated ring stand out 
six black branching thorns, at equal distances 
from each other. Upon the ring next to the pos. 
terior one is also a long 
black thorny horn, or 
spine. Along both sides 
of the body are longi¬ 
tudinal black and white 
curved stripes, with a 
black spot on the curved 
point. The head, and 
posterior valves, are 
orange color above, trim¬ 
med with black below. 
Ten long thorny horns 
stand out separately on 
the back of the head. 
The lower half of these 
are an orange color, and 
the upper half black, ex¬ 
cept the front two which 
are entirely black. Four 
of these horns are one 
inch in length, four i inch, 
and two are only i 
inch long, giving the head a singular appearance. 
Three large velvet-black spots are seen between 
the pairs of horns. The six fore-feet are small, 
of orange color ; the eight hind feet are very long, 
of brownish yellow striped with black. 
The horns are good 
weapons against other 
insects, and they will 
throw them back menac¬ 
ingly upon the hand if you 
touch the back of the 
animal, but they are per¬ 
fectly harmless. This 
defense against insects 
may account for the fact 
that I have never found 
insect eggs upon the body 
of this species of cater¬ 
pillar, as I have always 
done upon every other 
variety that I have ex¬ 
amined. This caterpillar 
feeds upon the leaves 
of all varieties of the 
walnut, also upon those 
of the sweet-gum ( sly - 
rax ?), and even upon the 
hard-leaved sycamore. 
When young, the color is 
dark brown, and the 
Fij. 3. horns,being then dispro¬ 
portionately long, give it 
an odd appearance. After the third change ot 
skin, the color becomes reddish, and on the fifth 
change it has the appearance described above. 
So soon as fully grown it goes down several 
inches into the ground, and without spinning a 
cocoon, changes into a chrysalis state as shown 
at a, in fig. 3. It remains under-ground during 
Winter, and comes out the last of May or first of 
June in this latitude, a perfect moth. 
The eggs laid by the moth are about 
the size of a radish seed, of green 
color at first. I found in a large fe¬ 
male, which I examined, 65 eggs—a 
small number in comparison with 
other varieties of moths. Only two 
eggs appear to be laid upon a single 
tree, or at least I have never found more than two 
caterpillars of the same size upon any one tree. 
The procreative organs of the male are pecu¬ 
liar. I have shown them in b, fig. 3, which ex¬ 
hibits the three movable valves, four large and 
four small horn-like hooks, etc. 
Within the body of the butterfly there is an air- 
