Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/886

 868 MOTH largest group, was so named from bombyx, the old name of the silkworm, and its members are generally thick-bodied, with feathered antenna} (at least in the males), very short or no feelers, with woolly thorax, and the fore legs often hairy; the caterpillars have 16 legs, and in most cases spin cocoons in which metamorpho- sis takes place. After Boisduval, Dr. Harris divides this group into nine families : 1. Liiho- siadce, so called from their caterpillars living in stony places and often feeding on the lichens growing upon rocks. Many of the species are very handsome, but injurious from devouring grass; they are small, slender-bodied, with long bristly antennae, narrow fore wings, and smooth back; they often fly in the daytime; their caterpillars are sparingly clothed with hairs growing in clusters from small warts, and enclose themselves in cocoons of silk inter- woven with their own hairs ; the rings of the chrysalids are closely joined. The most ele- gant species is the deiopeia ~bella, with white body, thorax dotted with black, fore wings dee.p yellow crossed by about six black- dotted white bands, the hind wings scarlet bordered with black behind, and a spread of about 1^ in. ; Deiopeia bella. it can hardly be called injurious to vegetation. 2. Arctiada, tiger and ermine moths, called woolly bears from the thick hairy covering of most of their caterpillars. The tongue is gen- erally very short, and the antennae doubly feath- ered on the under side, hardly visible in the females; feelers shorter and thicker than in the preceding family; wings roofed on each side, thorax thick, abdomen short and plump, generally with black spots; they fly only at night. The hairy caterpillars run very fast, and when irritated roll themselves into a ball ; some, like the salt-marsh caterpillar and the yellow bear, are very injurious to vegetation ; when about to change they creep into a pro- tected place, and make a cocoon of their own hairs and a little silk ; the chrysalis is smooth, with movable joints. Most of our tiger and er- mine moths belong to the genus arctia (Schr.). The largest is the A. mrgo, which gives out a very disagreeable odor; it expands 2 in., and the wings are reddish ; the larva is brown. The great American tiger moth (A. Americana), rep- resented in Europe by the A. caja, expands 2 in. ; the fore wings are brown marked with white, and the hind ochre yellow spotted with blue black, and with a white edge on the collar ; the caterpillar is blackish brown. The yellow bear (^4. [S.] Virginica) is very common and de- structive in gardens, devouring almost all kinds of plants; the moth is called the white miller, and would be called an ermine moth in England. The salt-marsh caterpillar (A. [S.] acrcea) is a great pest to the salt-hay crop ; it appears to- Balt-marsh Caterpillar (Arctia acrtea). a. Pupa. b. Moth. ward the end of June, attaining the full size during August, nearly 2 in. in length. The Isabella tiger moth (A. Isabella) is remarkable for the stiffness and evenness of its hairy cov- ering, black toward the head and tail and tan- red between, with black body and head ; the moth is tawny yellow with black dots, and the antennae are not feathered. Some arctians de- vour the leaves of trees, the most familiar and destructive of which are the fall web worms (A. [S.] textor) ; the brood make a web in common, sometimes extending over entire branches, and feed in company under its protection, devour- ing the upper and pulpy portion of the leaves ; when full grown they are a little more than an inch long, and are thinly clothed with hairs ; the general color is greenish yellow dotted with black, the head and feet black ; the moths are white, with tawny yellow fore thighs and black- ish feet; the wings expand about 1J in. For full descriptions of these and other arctians, see Dr. Harris's work on "Insects Injurious to Vegetation." 3. Liparidce, so called from the thickness of the body of the females, which are sometimes destitute of wings, while the slender males have broad wings ; the antennae are bowed and doubly feathered below ; the feelers are very hairy, as are the fore legs ; the males sometimes fly by day. The caterpillars are in most half naked, the thin hairs growing chiefly on the sides ; they are called tussocks in England, and have sometimes proved very destructive there ; they are far less common and injurious in this country, where they are called vaporer moths ; they belong to the genus orgyia, among others. 4. Lasiocampadce, with very thick woolly bodies, without the usual bristles or hooks to the wings, with the front edge of the hind wings turned up ; the larvae are generally not warty, and are sparingly clothed with short soft hairs, mostly on the sides ; both sexes are winged, and fly only at night. Here belong the tent or lackey cater- pillars so common in neglected orchards; the eggs are placed as little cylinders around the ends of branches, and the larvae when hatched make a tent like a spider's web between the forks of the branches of apple and cherry