426 THE LILAC-LEAF ROLLER MOTH. 



insignificant, though their vast numbers often give them powers of destruction which are 

 unequalled by the larger but scarcer insects. 



The PEBBLE HOOK-TIP MOTH is one of these insects, and one that has greatly perplexed 

 systematic entomologists to place it in its proper position. The Geometridse, as a rule, have 

 the antennae perfectly simple and thread-like ; but the male of this insect has those organs in 

 a feathery form, like those of other families. The larva, again, is of rather eccentric shape, 

 with projections along its back, with tufts of stiff hairs, and assuming an attitude very like 

 that which is characteristic of the puss-moth larva already described. 



The popular name of this moth is derived from the hook-like tips of the wings. Its color 

 is reddish-buff, over which are drawn a number of waved dusky streaks. In the centre of the 

 wing there is a dusky spot, and an orange-brown stripe is drawn from the inner margin to the 

 extremity. 



A VERY pretty and well-known moth is the OAK-LEAF ROLLER (Tortrix mridana), a 

 moth of a beautiful apple-green upon the upper wings. In the illustration the insect is repre- 

 sented in its natural size. In some places, these moths 

 swarm to a fearful extent, stripping whole trees of their 

 leaves. I have known the oaks to be surrounded with 

 whole clouds of these moths, fhtttering about like gnats, 

 and forming an exhaustless banquet to the empis-flies, 

 OAK-LEAF BotuK AND^cATEHPiLLAR.- which were catching them by thousands, embracing them 



in their long legs, and flying about with their prey, suck- 

 ing their juices like so many winged vampires. 



Other species live beneath the bark of trees, or even burrow into the wood, while others 

 are hatched in the interior of fruits, and live unsuspected in their retreats until they are on 

 the point of changing to the pupa form, when they eat their way out, and leave a round hole 

 as a memento of their presence. The CODLING-MOTH is one of the commonest of these tire- 

 some insects, living in the middle of the fruit from which it takes its name, and giving rise to 

 the condition which is termed "maggoty." The larva is a round, fat, white grub, which may 

 too often be found in the interior of an apparently sound and ripe apple, and which gives to 

 every part which it has touched a very bitter and nauseous flavor, like that of a worm-eaten 

 nut. None of the Tortricidae are of very brilliant colors, the Oak-leaf Roller being one of the 

 most conspicuous. The fore wings are dark grayish-brown, striped transversely with a darker 

 tint. On the outer part of each wing there is a dark brown space streaked with golden bars. 

 The hind wings are simple dusky -brown. 



The rose suffers sadly from the ravages of several of these moths, some of which feed 

 within the bud, and others tie the young leaves together and feed upon the interior. 



THE Tineidae form a very large family of moths, all of which are of small dimensions, and 

 some exceedingly minute. From several points in their structure, Mr. Westwood seems 

 doubtful whether they ought not to be united to the Yponomeutidse ; the general narrowness 

 of their wings, and the rare occurrence of labial palpi, being the points by which they have 

 been separated. The larvae of most of the species form portable cases of various materials, in 

 which they reside, some feeding upon animal, and others upon vegetable substances. The too 

 well-known CLOTHES-MOTH (Tinea tapetzella) belongs to this family. There is another species 

 of the same genus, popularly called the WOLF-MOTH (Tinea gravella), which haunts granaries 

 and malt-houses, and does great damage by feeding on the grains and fastening them together 

 with its silken web. 



The pretty little LILAC-LEAF ROLLER MOTH belongs to this family. Those who possess 

 gardens have doubtlessly noticed that many leaves of the common lilac are rolled into a cylin- 

 drical form, bound together by silken threads, and that, if this little case be opened, out 

 tumbles a small whitish caterpillar with a black head, who loses no time in letting itself to the 

 ground by means of a silken fibre spun from its mouth. How the larva rolls the leaf is quite 

 a mystery, and though it has been watched by many careful observers and seen to fasten its 



