A FAMILY OF ROPE DANCERS 55 
’em—not pine moths, of course, but other kinds. 
They have their fine garb all swaddled around 
them. The wings are tight against the breast, 
the plumes are folded down along the sides, and 
the hair fleece laid flat.” 
“Yes,” said Uncle John, “ the wings of the 
moth are not merely soft and folded, at emer¬ 
gence, as is commonly supposed. They are actu¬ 
ally undeveloped and grow in size in a very short 
time. I have a record of a polyphemus with 
wings only about one-half inch long when first 
observed, and each wing grew in thirty minutes 
to three and a half inches. You could actually 
see them grow. You see, the moth is just like a 
hard little cylinder, with a funny deep-ridged 
head, which she uses for a boring-tool. Not until 
she is free of the earth does she shake out her 
finery.” 
“ I have a lot of beautiful specimens in my col¬ 
lection,” said Tommy eagerly. “ I wonder if I 
could get hold of a pine moth? ” 
“ I doubt if you would prize her greatly,” 
Uncle John returned. “ She is not very gorgeous, 
being clad in plain gray, streaked with brown 
here and there. She has white under-wings, and 
a russet girdle covers her abdomen. The tip of 
her body is her only really remarkable feature. 
This shines like pale gold, and on examination 
proves to be covered with a fleece of russet-gold 
