PLATE XLI
THE PUSS MOTH (1 and 2)
This fine and handsome moth is called the “Puss,” because, when its wings are closed, it looks rather like a brindled cat. And there are two or three smaller moths which are a good deal like it; so these are known as “Kittens.”
One does not very often see the Puss Moth, although it is quite a common insect. But you can easily find its caterpillars by looking for them on the leaves of poplar and willow trees in August. They are most odd-looking creatures—bright apple-green in colour, with black heads, and with white and purple stripes upon their backs and sides, and with the front part of the body drawn up into quite a large hump. In front of this hump are two big black spots, which might easily be mistaken for eyes. And at the end of the body are two long, slender horns, from each of which the caterpillar pokes out a pink, thread-like organ when it is frightened. These organs look very much like stings, but they are perfectly harmless, so that you need not be in the least afraid to handle the insect. And the odd thing is that if two or three of these caterpillars are shut up in a box together, they nearly always nibble at one another’s horns.
When the Puss Moth caterpillar is fully fed it creeps into a chink in the bark, spins a tough silken cocoon, and changes into a chrysalis, from which the moth appears in the following May.
PLATE XLII
THE LOBSTER (1 and 2)
This seems a very odd name for a moth, doesn’t it? And if you were to see the moth you would be quite sure to wonder why such a title should ever have been given to it, for it is not in the very least like a lobster. But the fact is that it has a most singular-looking caterpillar, with very long legs, five pairs of large humps on its back, and the end of its body swollen out to a huge size, with two curved horns on the top. Really it does look not unlike a lobster with a very big claw, and a great many people would be quite afraid to touch it. However, it is perfectly harmless, so that if ever you meet with it you may pick it up without the least fear of being bitten, or pinched, or stung.
This very odd caterpillar feeds on the leaves of oak, birch, and beech trees in August and September. When it has finished growing it spins two or three leaves together by means of a few silken threads, and turns into a chrysalis between them, from which the moth hatches out in the following May or June.