Part 18

Moth: About ⅝ of an inch long; span of wing 1⅘ inches. Fore wings longish; yellow brown blended with dark brown and white; the tips are coloured most brightly. Three black rays on the fore wing; hind wings brown grey. Caterpillar: About 1⅗ inches long, ⅓ of an inch broad, with sixteen feet. Grey or reddish white, more or less shining. Head, prothorax, the last body segment and warts black. At the end of July and during August the female lays her eggs separately on the bases of grass haulms and leaves. The caterpillars creep out at the end of August, and, especially after their hybernation (in April and May), attack meadow grasses, biting through the leaves and haulms at their bases, immediately above the surface of the ground, and devouring, as it were, passages through the grass. The reddish brown pupæ rest in the soil.

The =Couch-grass Moth= (Hadena basilinea).

Moth: Nearly ⅘ of an inch long; span of wings 1⅗ inches. Head and back rust-coloured or reddish grey, in the male with a large tuft of hairs. Fore wings coloured like the back, with two transverse lines in the middle, and brighter and darker marks as well. Hind wings bright brown, with a faint golden sheen, and with a yellowish fringe. Caterpillar: 1⅕ to 1⅖ inches long, with sixteen feet, bluish grey, somewhat brownish, with dirty white longitudinal lines; greenish belly, and large bright brown head. The moth lays the eggs in little heaps on the stems and leaves of grass plants. The damage which the caterpillars effect among meadow grasses is inconsiderable; but they sometimes appear in considerable numbers on grain-plants, and are then very destructive. The insects are chiefly found on dry high-lying land, which is consequently most liable to the attacks of their larvæ. After hybernation they feed on grass or the leaves and stems of young grain-plants, and change in the soil into stout, smooth, yellowish-brown pupæ, devoid of cocoon. Remedy: In case the caterpillars have got into the crop, threshing should take place as soon as possible, or, after hybernating, they will continue to devour the grain in the barns.

The =Wheat-haulm Moth= (Luperina didyma).

Moth: Span of wing 1⅕ inches. Individual specimens differ very much from one another: brownish, greyish yellow to ochre yellow, with various dark and light markings. Caterpillar: With sixteen legs, and over an inch long in full-grown specimens (May); thin, spindle-shaped; stiff; bright shining green, with two broad dark red lines on the back. The caterpillars live in the stalks of wheat plants, and other gramineous forms, hollowing them out; they hybernate when tolerably young. In spring they continue to hollow out the wheat plants, going from one stalk to another. The plants attacked quickly have their leaves turned to a rusty colour, and they sicken or even die.

The =Grass Moth= (Charæas graminis).

Moth: Length ⅗ of an inch; span of wings about 1⅓ inches. Antennæ of the male comb-like. Fore wings short, of a brownish-red, olive brown, or dirty olive-green ground colour, with three whitish patches, and darker markings. Hind wings yellowish grey, brighter at the roots. Caterpillar: With sixteen legs; 1⅘ inches long; bronze grey, back more of a bronze brown, with three narrow bright longitudinal streaks. Head ochre yellow. The moth lays her some two hundred eggs during July, in little heaps at the bases of the grass haulms and leaves. The caterpillars hide during the day, and feed at night. They are very injurious even in the autumn, but become insatiable the following spring, always devouring the lowest parts of the haulms and leaves, so that the upper parts die off. They wander in large companies from one field to another. In June they become pupæ of a shining reddish brown below the surface of the soil or under sods. Enemies: swine, moles, shrews, rooks, wagtails, ducks, fowls. Remedy: Driving in swine, where this is practicable.

FIG. 101.—The Grass Moth (Charæas graminis) and its caterpillar. ]

The =Darnel Moth= (Neuronia popularis).

Moth: Length rather less than ⅘ of an inch; span of wings nearly 1⅗ inches. Much variegated, beautiful. Fore legs reddish brown, with peach-coloured glow; all the nerves and several markings yellowish white, and dark markings as well. Hind wings yellowish, and abdomen white. Head and thorax brown, mixed with yellowish white. Caterpillar: Over two inches long, and about one-third of an inch thick; 16-legged; tapers at both ends. Has an oily lustre. Dorsal side of a bronze brown, sharply marked off by a yellowish line from the bright brownish grey ventral side, and traversed by three longitudinal bright brown lines, which in young specimens are almost white. Habits pretty much like those of the preceding species.

The =Silver Y Moth= (Plusia gamma).

FIG. 102.—The Silver Y Moth (Plusia gamma), with caterpillar and pupa. ]

Family: =Pyralidæ= (Snout Moths).

Small moths with thread-like antennæ, comb-like in the males of a few species, with tolerably large eyes, and very large labial palps often stretched out in front like a beak (Fig. 103). Fore wings of an elongated triangular shape. Wing booklets. Legs tolerably long. Caterpillars slightly hairy, with four or five pairs of pro-legs.

The =Rye Snout Moth= (Pyralis secalis).

Moth: ⅗ of an inch long, span of wings 1⅕ inches. Wings elongated, whitish grey, with an A-shaped patch on the fore wings. Caterpillar: Rather more than ⅖ of an inch long; green, streaked with brown, 16-legged, with a brown head, and tapering at both ends. Habits: The caterpillar lives during June in the rye haulms, hollowing them out. As a result of this, the ears remain hidden between the leaves and leaf-sheaths, and it often happens that only the tips of the awns appear externally. No grain is formed; the ears first become white and dry, and then fall off.

The =Hop Snout Moth= (Hypena rostralis).

FIG. 103.—The Hop Snout Moth (Hypena rostralis). ]

Moth (Fig. 103): Length rather less than ⅖ of an inch; span of wings 1⅕ inches, or more. Fore wings usually brownish, somewhat scalloped on the fringed outer margins; a zigzag black line near the base; in the middle, near the front edge, a patch bordered with white, and behind this a dark longitudinal streak. Hind wings dull grey, with a silky sheen. Caterpillar: At most one inch long, 14-legged, very slender, green, with a dark middle line and two white side lines. Very active; wriggles about on the ground like an eel. Habits: The moth is on the wing at the beginning of August, the second generation in August; the latter hybernates in outhouses, barns, summer-houses, etc. The eggs are laid on wild and cultivated hops, also on stinging nettles. The caterpillars are found on the hop plants, especially in June; they sometimes entirely devour the leaves, with the exception of the nerves. In July they become pupæ, either between the leaves or on the soil, and are invested in a grey cocoon. The moths appear at the beginning of August, and give rise to a second generation of caterpillars, from which, after the pupa stage, the moths which live through the winter are developed.

The =Cabbage Snout Moth= (Botys forficalis).

Moth: Length about half an inch. Span of wings rather over one inch. Fore wings sharply bent in front before their sharp tips; rusty yellow, somewhat darker on the nerves, with rusty brown transverse streaks from the outermost corners to the middle of the hinder margin, and with other reddish brown markings. Hind wings and body shining straw yellow. Caterpillar: ⅘ inch long, 16-legged, tapering in front and behind. Yellowish green, with indistinct longitudinal lines and bright brown head. A few small yellowish-green hairs. Habits: The first generation appear in small numbers in May. The caterpillars hatched out from the eggs of these live (May and June) on the leaves of cabbages and wild cruciferous plants. They always shelter themselves between the leaves, and spin a few thin threads across the entrances to their abodes. The caterpillars burrow horizontally in the earth, and there become pupæ invested in cocoons. The moths of the second generation appear in August; in autumn the caterpillars hatched from their eggs damage cabbages, sometimes to a large extent. In October they burrow into the soil, where they hybernate. Remedy: Deep digging or ploughing after the crop, by which the larvæ invested in webs are buried deeply, and consequently for the most part killed.

The =Mother-of-pearl Moth= (Botys margaritalis = B. extimalis).

Moth (Fig. 104): Length nearly ⅖ inch; span of wing over 1⅕ inches. Fore wings bright sulphur yellow, with large rust-coloured patches, and two rusty yellow transverse lines. Hind wings shining straw yellow; all four wings with a mother-of-pearl sheen. Caterpillar (Fig. 104): ⅘ inch, 16-legged, yellowish, head and neck-shield black. Body with a broad, grey, longitudinal streak on each side. Four longitudinal rows of dark brown warts. Habits: The moth is on the wing in June and July, and lays the longish ovoid eggs on cruciferous plants (rape, radish, several wild forms). The caterpillar lives concealed in a white web, and gnaws holes in the pods, into which it inserts the forepart of its body for the purpose of devouring the still green seeds. The attacked pods, owing to the presence of round holes in them, look something like flutes or fifes.

FIG. 104.—The Mother-of-pearl Moth (Botys margaritalis), with larva (1) and injured pods. ]

The full-grown caterpillars burrow into the soil, where they hybernate in a delicate web. Remedy: Compare the preceding species.

Family: =Tortricidæ= (Leaf-rollers).

Small, thick-set moths (Fig. 105), with smaller palps than the snout moths. Fore wings broad at the root, with straight or somewhat curved outer margins. Hind wings as broad, or even broader, than the fore wings. When at rest the fore wings lie in a roof-like way. They usually possess many characteristic markings. Hind wings greyish, without markings. Antennæ thread-like. Caterpillars hairless, or only slightly hairy; 16-legged: many kinds live in leaves, which they roll up; others in twigs, buds, and fruits, which they hollow out.

The =Fawn-coloured Pea Moth= (Grapholitha nebritana = G. pisana).