THE VIRGINIA ER MINE-MOTII. 
349 
The largest of the American Arctians is the Scribonia , or 
great white leopard-moth, which varies in expansion from 
two and a half to three and a half inches, the females being 
invariably much larger than the males. It is of a white color; 
the fore wings and thorax are ornamented with many small 
oval black rings, the hind wings are more or less spotted 
with black ; and the abdomen is yellow, with rows of large 
blue-black spots on the back and sides. 
The caterpillar, as represented by Mr. Abbot,* is the 
counterpart of that of the Ilebe of Europe, being chestnut- 
brown with transverse red bands between the rings, and is 
clothed with clusters of dark brown hairs. It is said to 
cat the leaves of the wild sunflower and of various other 
plants. It has been confidently reported to me that the 
great leopard-moth has been seen in Brookline; but it must 
be very rare here, for I have never heard of its being taken 
in any part of New England. Specimens of this fine insect 
would be a very acceptable addition to any collection of such 
objects. 
Of all the hairy caterpillars frequenting our gardens, there 
are none so common and troublesome as that which I have 
called the yellow- 
bear (Fig. 167). 
Like most of its 
genus, it is a very 
general feeder, de- 
vouring almost all 
kinds of herbaceous plants with equal relish, from the broad- 
leaved plantain at the door-side, the peas, beans, and even 
the flowers of the garden, and the corn and coarse grasses 
of the fields, to the leaves of the vine, the currant, and the 
gooseberry, which it does not refuse when pressed by hunger. 
This kind of caterpillar varies very much in its colors ; it is 
perhaps most often of a pale yellow or straw color, with a 
black line along each side of the body, and a transverse line 
* Insects of Georgia, p. 137, pi. 69. 
Fig. 167. 
