418 
LEPIDOPTERA. 
doubly feathered, but the fringe is narrower throughout than 
in the other sex. The body and the wings almost exactly 
resemble those of the foreign silk-worm moth in shape ; but 
the fore wings are rather more pointed and hooked at the tip. 
There are no bristles and hooks to hold together the wings, 
which, when at rest, cover the sides like a sloping i-oof, and 
the front edge of the hind wings does not project beyond that 
of the fore wings. These moths are of a reddish-gray color, 
finely sprinkled all over with minute black dots ; the pos- 
terior margin of the hind wings above, and the under side 
of the fore wings, especially behind the tip, are tinged with 
tawny red ; there is a small black dot near the middle of 
the fore wings ; and both the fore and hind wings are crossed 
by a narrow blackish band, beginning with an angle on the 
front edge of the former, and passing obliquely backwards 
to the inner edge of the hind wings. They expand from 
one inch and three eighths to two inches, or a little more. 
The last family of the Bombyces remaining to be noticed 
may be called Notodontians (Notodontam). Many of the 
caterpillars belonging to it have hunched backs, or tooth-like 
prominences on the back ; and hence the origin of the name 
of this family, which comes from a word signifying toothed 
back. Most of these caterpillars ai-e entirely naked ; some 
of them are downy or slightly hairy, but the hairs generally 
grow immediately from the skin, and not in spreading clus- 
ters from little warts on the rings. They have sixteen legs ; 
some raise the last pair when at rest, and some keep these 
always elevated and do not use them in creeping, in which 
case these terminal legs are lengthened, and form a forked 
appendage or tail to the hinder part of the body. Hence 
such caterpillars are often described as having only fourteen 
legs, although the wanting members really exist in a modified 
form. Moreover, the caterpillars of some of the Notodon- 
tians seem to be without legs, and even on close examination 
only the soles of the feet can be perceived. The Notodon- 
tians are found chiefly on trees and shrubs, the leaves of 
