422 
LEPIDOPTERA. 
ably on account of tlie shrivelled appearance and dark color 
of the caterpillar. In its winged state, Limacodes pithedum^ 
or the hag-moth, as it may be called, is of a dusky brown 
color; its fore wings are variegated with light yellowish 
brown, and with a narrow curved and wavy band, of the 
same light color, edged externally with dark brown near 
the outer margin, and a light brown spot near the middle ; 
the fringes of all the wings are spotted with light brown ; 
the legs are covered with long hairs ; the antennae, in 
both sexes, are slender, almost thread-like, and not feath¬ 
ered. It expands from nearly one inch to one inch and a 
quarter. 
There is a kind of cateiqDillar, found in July and August 
on the balsam poplar, and sometimes on other poplars and 
willows, whose fonn, posture, and motions are so odd as 
at once to arrest attention. Its body is naked, short, and 
thick, tapers behind, and ends with a forked kind of tail, 
which is held upwards at an obtuse angle with the rest of 
the body. This forked tail, which takes the place of the 
hindmost pair of legs, the others being only fourteen in 
number, is not used with the latter in creeping, and consists 
of two movable hollow tubes, within each of which is con¬ 
cealed a long orange-colored thread, that the insect can push 
out and draw in at pleasure. The feet are short and small ; 
the head is small, of a purple color, and can be drawn 
under the front part of the first ring ; the body is green, 
with a triangular purple spot on the top of the fore part, 
and a large diamond-shaped patch, of the same color, cov¬ 
ering the back and middle of the sides like a mantle, and 
prolonged behind to the tail. When young, these caterpil¬ 
lars have, on the top of the first ring, two little prickly 
warts, wlijch disappear after one or two changes of the skin. 
When teased by being touched, or irritated by flies, the cat¬ 
erpillar runs out the threads from its forked tail, which it 
jerks forwards so as to lash the sides of its body and whip 
off the intinider. When fully grown, it measures sometimes 
