444 



NATURAL HISTORY OF ARTHROPODS. 



FIG. 563. Dakruma convolutella. 



blackish dots. There is a pair of blackish dashes at the end of the cell. The females 

 deposit their eggs singly on the young gooseberries ; and, when the caterpillars escape 

 from the eggs, they burrow into the berries, feeding on the pulp within. As they 



increase in size, they fasten several berries together 

 by silken threads. The mature caterpillars are 

 about three-fourths of an inch in length, of a pale- 

 greenish color, with light-brownish heads and thor- 

 acic shields. When done feeding they descend to 

 the ground and spin silken cocoons among the fallen 

 leaves, where they remain during the winter, the 

 moths emerging the next summer. 



Prof. J. H. Comstock has described two other 

 species of Dakruma, the caterpillars of which are 

 predaceous. The first, Dakruma coccidivora, feeds 

 on the cottony maple scale (Pulvinaria innumerabilis), and other species of coccids ; 

 the second, Dakruma pallida, feeds on the eggs of certain species of bark-lice. 



The leaf-crumpler, Phycis indiginella, of North America, expands about three- 

 fourths of an inch. The fore wings are pale brown, marked with silvery white on the 

 costal portion, and crossed by several whitish lines. The hind wings are pale brownish 

 white. The eggs are laid in July, and the caterpillars draw together and crumple the 

 leaves on which they feed. They form peculiar, horn-shaped and twisted cases of 

 silk, interwoven with their dried excrements. The caterpillars remain in these cases 

 feeding during the autumn, and also hibernating in them in the winter. In the spring 

 they revive, continue feeding, transform to pupae, and the moths emerge in June. 



The melon-caterpillar, Eudioptis liyalinata, which occurs throughout the greater 

 portions of North America and South America, expands about an inch. The wings 

 are of a beautiful, pearly, iridescent white, with a broad, black, or purplish brown 

 band on the outer margin, and on the costa of the fore wings. The mature caterpillar 

 is about an inch and a quarter in length, of a yellowish green color, and spins its 

 cocoon in a fold of the leaf, within which it transforms to a pupa, and the moth 

 emerges in a short time 



j 



afterwards. This in- 

 sect is particularly de- 

 structive to melon 

 plants, and not only 

 devours the leaves, but 

 eats into the melons, 

 and also cucumbers 

 and pumpkins, at all stages of their growth, sometimes excavating shallow cavities, 

 and at other times penetrating directly into the substance of the fruit. Closely 

 related to this species is Eudioptis nitidalis, which is common in some parts of 

 the south, feeding on cucumbers, and having similar habits to the melon-cater- 

 pillar. 



Asopia farinalis, the meal-moth, now common everywhei'e, expands about an 

 inch. The fore wings are yellowish brown across the middle, and the base and outer 

 edge are chocolate-brown. The median shade is limited by a white line on each side. 

 The hind wings are smoky brown, crossed by two irregular, white lines, and a row of 

 brown spots along the outer margin, which are largest towards the anal angle. The 



FIG. 564. Eudioptis nitidalis, larva and adult. 



