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The Imperial Moth 
A LL moths and butterflies hatch from 
the egg into a caterpillar; then when 
L the caterpillar has stayed for a time 
rolled up in a white silky shell called a 
“cocoon,” it comes out a moth or a butter¬ 
fly. This moth is one of the largest, being 
four or five inches in size across his wings. 
His body is stout and hairy, and his head 
sunken. He is a bright yellow, with bands 
and specks of purplish brown. He lives on the leaves of hickory, butter¬ 
nut, and other forest trees. In the female the bands are purple. 
The Ce-cro-pi-a Moth 
T his is the very largest of our giant 
silk-worms. “But,” you say, “he is 
not a worm at all. He is a moth.” 
You remember that he has to be a worm be¬ 
fore he can become a moth. The caterpil¬ 
lar feeds on many different kinds of trees, 
—apple, plum, wild cherry, and linden, and 
others. Then he spins the silk cocoon in 
which he hides himself. When he comes 
out, he is a beautiful moth. His wings are dusky brown with a white band 
which has a wide red margin inside a clay-colored border. Each wing has 
a crescent-shaped white spot with red rim. 
The Pro-me-the-a Moth 
Y OU have seen, in winter, a rolled-up leaf with a cocoon inside, have 
you not? Well, that cocoon probably belonged to this moth, be¬ 
cause that is the way he protects himself while he is hatching out. 
Then, instead of being a bluish green cater¬ 
pillar from two to three inches long, he is 
a blackish brown or a reddish brown moth. 
That light line is whitish, and is bordered 
with black. The outer margin is clay-col¬ 
ored, and on each fore wing is a disk-like 
spot. The male and female differ so much 
that you would think them different kinds 
of moths. 
