ake
head and tail meet, and float in this posture till they can
contrive to save themselves by clinging to some part of the
plant. They possess the power of drawing the head and three
first joints within the body at pleasure. The moth flies very
late at night, and is rarely caught.

[25] _Lasiocampa rubi._--The Fox moth is chiefly found on heaths and
commons, and lives in the caterpillar state all the winter.

[26] _Hepialus humuli._--The male moth is of a beautiful and
brilliant white, but the female is yellow. It is fond of feeding
on the roots of grass, and from having been often found in
church-yards, the tradition has arisen that it inhabits those
spots only. The caterpillar is very destructive to hops, by
devouring the roots.

[27] _Sphinx atropos._--This is called the Death's Head moth from the
resemblance of the spot on its thorax to a human skull. It is
the largest of the Sphinx tribe, and is vulgarly regarded as the
messenger of pestilence and death. When touched it utters a
plaintive cry, like that of a bat or mouse. Reaumur says, that a
whole convent in France was thrown into consternation, by one of
these moths flying into the dormitory. It frequently robs hives,
and Huber states, that its cry renders the bees motionless. It
breaks from its chrysalis between four and seven in the
afternoon, as the Hawk moth of the Lime always appears at noon,
and that of the Evening Primrose at sunrise.

[28] _Sphinx cellata._--The Eyed-hawk moth flies very swiftly by
night, and its caterpillar is very beautiful.

[29] _Geometra crataegaria._--The Brimstone lays eggs twice in the
same year.

[30] This genus is so called from the peculiar manner in which the
caterpillar moves; it brings the feet of both extremities close
together, and the intermediate part of the body rises like an
arch, giving it the appearance of measuring the distance it
performs. It is said to possess great muscular powers, for it
will attach its posterior feet to the twig of a tree, and erect
the rest of its body in a vertical position for hours without
moving.

[31] _Geometra subtristata._--&c. &c.

[32] _Tinea genus._--These are the moths which cause so much
destruction to f