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Cecropia Moth
This splendid moth, which is very common, is one of a small number of our native silk-moths, which attract more or less popular attention, and the spring of the year in our museums is always regarded as a period in which a certain portion of the time of the entomological staff will be consumed in replying to the letters of persons who, having for once opened their eyes to the wonders of the insect world, have sent in old matchboxes through the mails specimens of this insect, generally adding the information that the species is probably "new to science" or "excessively rare," they having for the first time in their lives noticed the moth.
The larva feeds upon a great variety of deciduous trees and shrubs, though manifesting a predilection for the Rosaceae, willows, maples, and the lilac. The cocoon is a familiar object. The insect is found over the whole Atlantic seaboard, and ranges westward to the eastern margin of the great plains.