| Show u o S NATURE r Moth NO MOUTH HE STARVES TO DEATH Dy By AUSTIN H Ii CLARK Smithsonian Institution Perhaps the commonest of ot all allour allour allour our giant moths Is the mus InUS This is a very pant haD ome me moth usually five or six 1 Inches across the tho wings most commonly dull tawny yellow ellow with a a large black and blue spot In the mid de of 01 each hind wing I There Is a n transparent spot on the fore tore wings ings and another in the the outer onI I outer part of o the tile black and blue I spot on the hind wings icings Fre- Fre Fre- Fre Frequently Frequently I the wings are reddish and nd th they y may vary all the wa way from from- cream color to olive or blackish brown brawn but dull yellowIsh Is the tha usual shade hade I In the north this moth Is seen only in June and July but In the south It appears earlier and 11 also reappears In autumn In the central ral portion of ot Its ran range e It t Is s commo common In the spring but rare in inthe II the autumn MISTAKEN FOR BAT I Under electric lights you OU often orten I find the crushed remains of handsome moth and It som sometimes flutters at your windows trying to get In and reach roach the tho light Du Bu you ou seldom see It unless you ou bunt for it On the wIn wing It 11 Is so large that most people take it for tor abat abat a bat The Tho caterpillar which Is a 11 abright abright I brIght translucent green with a abrown abrown abrown brown head bead is la more ore than than- three Inches long tl though though ough comparatively chunky It feeds on many many different ant kinds of ot trees It js is a prodigious ious lous eater It has to be because the tho moth moth- cannot eat at all ll and lives ilves entirely on the food material stored Elored up within Its body body when it 11 was a caterpillar Although very ery large and such great eaters these caterpillars are not Dot sufficiently abundant t tb bp be troublesome but under conditions condition they may be- be become be become come rome destructive S SPINS INS SILK When fully grown the cater cater- caterpillar caterpillar pillar spins a very dense and tough cocoon ovoid in shape be between tween two leaves In the autumn with the Ifa leaves raves es the the tho cocoons fall to 0 the ground ant and and you ou sometimes tee coe ce them on the sidewalks even evenin evenIn in our cities I Occasionally Occasionally a caterpillar more timid than his fellows runs runs a athin athin thin band of silk up the st stem m of one or both leav leaves s and fastens the cocoon more IDore or less secure secure- securely securely securely ly to the tho branch I Various attempts have have been made to utilize the silk from these cocoons and Indeed the mus Is often orten called the American worm l silkworm moth n- n |
