THE AMERICAN LAPPET-MOTH. 
377 
which progressively decrease in size to the last. On the 
fore part of the body one or two velvet-like and highly col¬ 
ored bands may be seen when the caterpillar is in motion ; 
' and on the top of the eleventh ring there is generally a long 
naked wart. When these singular caterpillars are not eat¬ 
ing, they remain at rest, stretched out on the limbs of trees, 
and they often so nearly resemble the bark in color as to 
escape observation. From the lappets, or leg-like appen¬ 
dages, hanging to their sides, they are called lappet-caterpil¬ 
lars by English writers. 
Twice I have found, on the apple-tree, in the month of 
September, caterpillars of this kind, measuring, when fully 
grown, two inches and a half in length, and above half an 
inch in breadth. The upper side was gray, variegated with 
irregular white spots, and sprinkled all over with fine black 
dots ; on the fore part of the body there were two transverse 
velvet-like bands of a rich scarlet color, one on the hind part 
of the second, and the other on the third ring, and on'each 
of these bands were three black dots ; the under side of the 
body was orange-colored, with a row of diamond-shaped 
black spots; the hairs on the sides were gray, and many of 
them were tipped with a white knob. The caterpillar eats 
the leaves of the apple-tree, feeding only in the night, and 
remaining perfectly quiet during the day. The moth pro¬ 
duced from it was supposed by Sir J. E. Smith * to be the 
same as the European Ilicifolia^ 
or holly-leaved lappet-moth, from 
which, however, it differs in so 
many respects that I shall ven¬ 
ture to give it another name. It 
belongs to the genus Gastropa- 
cha^ so called from the very 
thick bodies of the moths ; and the present species may be 
named Americana^ the American lappet-moth (Fig. 176). 
* See Abbot’s “Insects of Georgia,’’ p. 101, pi. 61. 
[22 Gastropacha Americana is G. occidentals Walker. — Monnis.] 
48 
Fig. 176. 
