Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/887

 MOTH 869 trees; they spin from the mouth a silken thread which serves to conduct them to the tent in their search for food, and in this man- ner their pathways become in time well car- American Tent Caterpillar (Clisiocampa Americana). a. Cocoon, b. Moth. peted and secure. They are called lackeys in England, and livrees in France, from their parti-colored livery of white, black, and yel- low. The American tent caterpillar or lackey {clisiocampa Americana) is so abundant and so well known as one of the worst enemies in the orchard, as to receive in many districts the name of " the caterpillar." The lappet moths are so called from the hairs which grow from fleshy or warty appendages that hang like legs from the sides of every ring ; the American lappet moth is the gastropacha Americana, described in Dr. Harris's work above cited. The Chinese silkworm (bombyx mori), which belongs here, is noticed under SILKWOEM, and the processionary moth (B: processionnea) un- der CATEEPILLAE. 5. Saturniadce, containing some of the largest and handsomest moths, with thick woolly bodies, widely feathered antennae, and wings without bristles or hooks, 'and generally with a conspicuous spot in the middle of each ; they fly during twilight. The most beautiful of all is the luna moth (attacus tuna), with long-tailed wings of light green expanding 4 to 5 in., each having a transpa- rent spot encircled with white, red, yellow, and black; the larva is bluish green, from 2 to 3 in. long, and when at rest nearly as thick as the thumb ; it is found on walnut and hick- ory trees, and spins a strong cocoon within a cavity formed by the drawing together of a few leaves. The polyphemus moth expands 6 in., and is of a dull ochre yellow color, with- out tails to the wings. The A. Cecropia ex- pands to 6 in., with rounded untailed wings of a grizzled dusky brown, with a red eye spot with white centre and black edge. The A. Prometliea expands to about 4 in. All these moths make very large cocoons entirely of silk, surpassing in strength those of the silkworm, and capable of being manufactured into very durable fabrics. Two other moths of this fam- ily, whose processionary larvae are furnished with severely stinging prickles, are the Saturnia /<?, expanding from 2 to 3^ in., and the S. Maia, resting like the former with the wings closed, expanding to about 3 in. 6. Cerato- campada, or horned caterpillars, being armed with thorny points, some of the anterior long and curved like horns ; in the moths the short antennas are feathered at the basal half and thence naked to the tip ; the wings, closed when at rest, have no hooks nor bristles ; this family, according to Harris, is exclusively American. One of the largest, rarest, and most magnifi- cent is the royal walnut moth (ceratocampa regalis), expanding 5 or 6 in., the fore wings J 1V t C lored with y ellow 8 P ts and red lines , the hind wings orange red with yellow patches and olive spots; the horns of the formida- ble-looking larva are unable to wound. Other horned larvae belong to the genus dryocampa, as the imperial moth (D. imperials), with yellow wings sprinkled and spotted with pur- ple brown, expanding to about 5 in. 7. Zeu- zeradcK or hepialidce, whose larvae are concealed in the wood and pith of plants like the borers of the hawk moths ; these larvae are whitish, soft, nearly naked, with horny heads, and 16 legs ; they make imperfect cocoons. Here be- long the ghost moth of Europe (hepialus hu- muli), very injurious to the hop vine; the famous cossus ligniperda, so destructive to the elm and willow ; and various borers of the locust tree in this country, the carpenter moths of the genus xyleutes (Newman), which in- cludes the C. ligniperda ; the last -are some- times called goat moths from their strong odor. 8. Psychadm, or sack-bearers, from the lar- vae bearing about with them cases in which they live, made of bits of straw, leaves, and sticks, and lined with silk ; they undergo their change within ^hese ; here belong the genera psyche, ceceticus (drop or basket worms), and perophora. 9. Notodontadce, so called from the hunched or toothed back of the larvae ; some are naked, others slightly hairy, with 16 legs, of which the last pair are sometimes modi- fied into a forked caudal appendage; some seem to be without legs, showing only the soles of the feet. Here belong the odd-shaped limacodes or slug caterpillars, found on forest and orchard trees ; the dicramira or fork-tails, the last pair of legs being held upward ; and the various species of the old genus notodonta, as the N. unicornis and concinna. II. Noctucs or owlet moths, equivalent to the noctualites of Latreille, so called from their flying chiefly at night like owls. This tribe contains many thick-bodied and swift-flying moths, which gen- erally have long and tapering antennae, long tongue, distinct feelers, wings fastened by bris- tles and hooks and roofed when at rest; the colors are usually dull, and shades of gray or brown ; the larvae are for the most part naked, slow-moving, usually with 16 legs, and nearly cylindrical ; some make cocoons, while oth- ers go into the ground to transform. Their injury to vegetation is considerable. Among them are the maple moths (apatela) of Amer- ica and Europe ; the nonagrians, like the spin-