346 



LEPIDOPTERA. 



out ever seeing a male. (Stainton.) Solenobia? Walsltella 

 Clemens is gray, varied with fuscous. The silken case is gran- 

 ulated with line sand ; the larva is probably lichenivorous. 



In Tinea the head is rough, the maxillary palpi are usually 

 folded and five jointed, while the labial palpi are cylindrical, 

 hairy and sometimes bristly. The fore wings are 

 oblong ovate, and the hind wings ovate and clothed 

 with scales. 



The common Clothes moth, Tinea flavifrontella 

 Linn. (Fig. 262 ; fig. 263, a, larva, with its case, b ; c, chrysa- 

 lis, enlarged) is of a light buff color, with a silky iridescent lus- 

 tre, the hind wings and abdomen being a little paler. The head 

 is thickty tufted with hairs and is a little tawny. The wings are 

 long and narrow, pointed acutely, with the most beautiful and 

 delicate long silken fringe, which increases in length towards 

 the base of the wing. The moth begins to fly about our apart- 

 c i> ments in May, individuals 



remaining through the sum- 

 mer. They lay their eggs 

 in woollens, though we have 

 reared numerous specimens 

 which had attacked a mass 

 of cotton. Early in June 

 we found numbers of the 

 Fig. 263. caterpillars in their flattened 



cylindrical cases which in this instance were white, the color 

 of the substance they fed upon. The larva is whitish with a 

 tolerably plump body, which tapers slightly towards the end 

 of the body, while the head is honey yellow. The segments 

 of the body are thickened above by two transverse folds. The 

 bod}' of the chrysalis is considerably curved, with the head 

 smooth and rounded. The antennae, together with the hind legs, 

 which are laid on the breast, reach to the tip of the abdo- 

 men. On the upper surface of each ring is a short trans- 

 verse row of minute spines, which aid the chrysalis in moving 

 towards the mouth of its case, just before changing to a moth. 

 "\Vhen about to transform, the skin splits open on the back, 

 and the perfect insect glides out. The skin is moulted with 

 great rapidity. To avoid the ravages of this destructive moth, 



