Page:Jardine Naturalist's Library Exotic Moths.djvu/195

Rh yellow lines across the surface, and a cluster of small yellow spots towards the centre. The upper wings are yellow beneath, with a black ocelliform spot in the middle, with a white pupil, behind which is a transverse reddish ray. The under wings are yellow above, with a large central ocelliform spot, which is black, with a white elongated pupil; behind this eye there is a black semicircular band, succeeded by another parallel one which is ferruginous; the inner margin of the wing is likewise ferruginous. On the under side the wings in question are yellow, with a transverse ferruginous ray.

The caterpillar is rather thick and fleshy; light green, with a lateral stripe of ferruginous and white, commencing at the fourth segment from the head and terminating at the anus; each segment bears a transverse row of large tufts of hair. It may be called polyphagous, feeding on Indian corn, dogwood, sassafras, &c. The pupa is very dark brown, approaching to black, and if Abbot's delineation be correct, free from hairs. The author just alluded to found the caterpillar spin up on 27th September, and the fly appeared on the wing on the 17th of May, and continued coming out at different times till the 15th of August following. The caterpillar stings very severely, and encloses itself in a brown web on the leaves. It is not very common, and is a very tender fly to keep in cabinets, the male sooner decaying than any other. When young, the caterpillars feed in large companies, but ultimately become solitary.