Pyralidae 349 



least twice. In summer small branches are clipped from peach trees 

 and placed in vials of water. These remain fresh long enough for ex- 

 posure to the moths. Forsythia and privet are also used, the moths lay- 

 ing on the leaves of such shrubs nearly as well as those of peaches. Lilac, 

 pear leaves, and probably others, may be used successfully. 



Careful adherence to the above methods of breeding has led to suc- 

 cessful year around production of the Oriental fruit moth in Connecticut. 

 The numbers which may be reared are apparently only restricted by the 

 amount of space, time, material, and labor available. 



Our average ratio of increase is 17 to 1, although in some cases 30 

 to 1 may be obtained. The sex ratio is about 50' ,' c each, males and 

 females. Maximum production was reached during the month of August 

 1934, when 376,000 fruit moth eggs were obtained. 



Reference 

 For the culture of Harmologa fumiferana see p. 488. 



Family pyralidae 



BREEDING METHODS FOR GALLERIA MELLONELLA 



T. L. Smith, College of the Ozarks, Clarksville, Arkansas 



The Wax Moth, Galleria mellonella, is found wherever bees are cul- 

 tured. The adults never eat; the larvae feed only on honeyless bee 

 combs, preferably the old brood combs. To the apiarist, it is a very 

 potent pest and quickly destroys his weaker colonies. Throughout the 

 larval stage during which there are eight instars with their terminating 

 ecdyses, food is consumed in great quantities. The larvae also spin silken 

 threads from the time they hatch to the time of pupation. During the 

 last few days of their larval life each larva spins about itself a compact 

 silken cocoon. The duration of the larval stage is about 35 days, the 

 pupal stage 12 to 14 days, and the adult stage about 10 days at ordinary 

 room temperature. Mating ordinarily occurs the first day after eclosion. 

 The females lay from 200 to 1,000 eggs or more. 



The adults show a distinct sexual dimorphism. The male is generally 

 lighter in color than the female and the posterior edges of the fore wings 

 are notched at their ends while the ends of the wings of the female are 

 almost straight. The antennae of the male are 10% to 20% shorter 

 than those of the female. In the male the labial palps are hooked 

 inward while those of the female protrude forward and slightly upward 

 giving a pointed or beak-like appearance to the front end of the head. 

 The female has a distinctly long ovipositor which is almost prehensile in 

 its use for seeking out places for oviposition. The eggs are whitish in 



