160 
MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. 
wild cherry, elm, ash, etc., and may be found near the tips of the 
branches devouring the young and tender foliage. Young trees and 
bushes seem to be more subject to the attacks of the larvae of these 
moths than older and larger trees. This insect is found from Canada 
to Virginia throughout the Atlantic States. 
A dark brown insect somewhat resembling the foregoing is Smer- 
inthus my ops. The fore wings and body are dark purplish-brown with 
light purple lines and markings, and the lower wings have the eye-like 
spot of the preceding species, but are much darker generally. In 
Triptogon modesta. 
habits the two species closely resemble each other. While at rest 
hanging from the stem of a plant, the scalloped outline of the wings of 
these insects, together with their brown or tan colors and the peculiar 
bent attitude in which the body is held, give them a resemblance to 
brown and withered leaves. So complete is their mimicry that one 
may be obliged to touch the insect before being sure of its identity. 
A fine large, but rather rare, insect having a wide range over the 
northern half of the country is Smerinthus or Triptogon modesta. 
This moth expands, in a fine specimen, from five and a half to six 
inches, and its colors are soft and pleasing. The outer two-tliirds of 
