Once free, they press
with the feet against the wing shields, burst them away and leave
the case at the thorax. Each moth I ever have seen emerge has been
wet and the empty case damp inside. I have poured three large
drops of pinkish liquid the consistency of thin cream from the abdominal
rings of a Regalis case. Undoubtedly this liquid is ejected by
the moth to enable it to break loose from and leave the case with
its delicate down intact. The furry scales of its covering are so
loosely set that any violent struggle with dry down would disfigure
the moth.
Among Cecropia and its Attacine cousins, also Luna, Polyphemus, and
all other spinners the process is practically the same, save that
it is much more elaborate; most of all with Cecropia, that spins
the largest cocoon I ever have seen, and it varies its work more
than any of the others. Lengthwise of a slender twig it spins a
long, slim cocoon; on a board or wall, roomier and wider at the
bottom, and inside hollow trees, and under bridges, big baggy
quarters of exquisite reddish tan colours that do not fade as do
those exposed to the weather.
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