THE BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS 



67 



end (Fig. 44, b) of the young apples. If a poison spray has 

 been applied at the proper time the young larva gets a dose 

 of poison with its first and last meal and the apple escapes 

 being classed as a wormy cull. 



Clothes Moths. Some of the small brownish "moth mil- 

 lers " so commonly seen flying in houses are the adults of 

 the clothes moth (Fig. 45), often so destructive of clothing, 

 carpets, and upholstered furniture. The adult moth lays its 

 eggs on woolen mate- 

 rial. When the eggs 

 hatch, the larvae pro- 

 ceed to eat the cloth. 

 There are three species 

 of clothes moths, each 

 belonging to a differ- 

 ent genus. 



The Corn Borer. The 

 European corn borer 

 is the larva of a moth 

 which causes great 

 damage by boring into 



the stalks of corn. This species (Pyraus'ta nubial'is) was 

 very recently introduced into this country, but it is making 

 alarming progress in its invasion of the corn belt. Individ- 

 ual states and the federal government have appropriated 

 very large sums of money for the study of this insect, but 

 so far there seems to be small hope.of checking its spread. 



An insect which feeds on the surface of a plant may be 

 attacked directly by poison food or by deadly sprays. But 

 when an insect does its damage inside of the tissues of a 

 plant there is little chance of reaching it. 



Measuring Worms. The measuring worms (Fig. 46) are 

 the larvae of a group of medium-sized moths. When some 

 of these larvae are at rest, it is difficult to believe them to 



Fig. 45. A clothes moth. (Enlarged) 



Adult, larva in case, and larva. (Courtesy of the 

 United States Department of Agriculture) 



