112 
MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. 
outside will sometimes keep up such a fluttering against the win¬ 
dows of the house in their mad desire to get in, that sleep is out of 
the question. 
The surpassingly beautiful Actias luna , with its translucent pea- 
green wings bordered with purple, is justly esteemed by collectors as 
one of the most lovely creatures the insect world affords. When 
fresh from the cocoon, its downy wings fully expanded and perfect 
in every detail, it is a delightful creature to look upon, and is famil¬ 
iar to most persons who have lived any time in the country, the long 
tails of its hind wings and green color making it easily distinguished 
from any other insect known to the United States or Canada. The 
moths emerge from their cocoons in June, and may frequently be 
seen on moonlight nights flying among the upper branches of the 
forest trees. Being very light they look almost white in the moon¬ 
light. They are difficult to catch on the wing unless one has a fe¬ 
male with which to assemble them, as they fly so high. They usu¬ 
ally rest quietly among the foliage in the daytime, and on account of 
their protective coloring are difficult to find. 
The eggs of the moth are laid singly on the leaves of the walnut, 
hickory, birch, chestnut and other forest trees about the middle of 
June, and the caterpillars soon hatch. They are dark in color at 
this stage and covered with hairs. They reach their full size early 
in September, and are then two and a half to three inches long, as 
thick as one’s thumb, and of a translucent green with a yellow 
stripe extending along each side, a similarly colored band running 
transversely across the back between each of the segments and mina- 
ture pearl-colored tubercles along the back and sides, which bear 
many short, light yellow hairs. This larva closely resembles the 
Telea jiolyphemus larva in shape and size, but the latter has larger 
tubercles, the segments are more humped, and it lacks the continu¬ 
ous yellow stripe on the sides. The larvae spin their thin, brownish 
cocoons among the leaves, still fresh and green, and when they fall, 
the cocoons fall with them and are covered up on the ground by 
other leaves and by the snow, which protects them from the severe 
frosts of winter. Many of them are found by the moles, skunks, 
crows and jaj^s and help eke out the scanty rations of these animals 
during the months of scarcity. One may find the cocoons in autumn 
and earl\' spring by searching among the fallen leaves under the 
walnut and birch trees. This insect is not very hardy, but may be 
reared with care from the egg or the caterpillar, although the moths 
