322 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



The Gartered Plume-moth. (Oxyptilus periscelidactyJus.) 



This curious little creature is common enough in our State, although it rarely 

 occurs in sufficient numbers to be serious. The larvae are small, yellowish-green 

 in color, and about half an inch long. They bind some of the small leaves to- 

 gether, making a little nest in which they feed and pupate. The moth is small 

 and very lively. The front wings are cleft almost half way to the base, the hind 

 wings being cut deeper still. Hand picking is the best remedy when they become 

 numerous. 



Hawk-moths. (Darapsa myron, Pliilampelus pandorus, P. aohemon, Thyreus abotii, 



Deilophila lineata, and others.) 



A number of species of hawk-moths or humming-bird moths pass, their larval 

 stage on the grape. The larviB of these moths are good sized caterpillars, each 

 having a strong, spike-shaped process or tail on the upper part of the posterior 

 end. In the case of some species this spike is replaced, in the older examples, 

 by a polished tubercle resembling an eye. They w-ork openly, feeding on the 

 foliage, and doing a great deal of damage in a short time. The pupal stage is 

 passed under-ground, the pupa usually being more or less cigar-shaped and some- 

 times as large around as a cigar. The larvaj are so large and conspicuous, and 

 the work and excrement so easily seen, that it is quite an easy matter to kill 

 them by hand. In fact hand picking is the only practical remedy, as they do not 

 readily succumb to the poisons. 



Fig. 44. — The Grape-vine Hawk-moth, after Riley, American Entomologist. 



The Grape Leaf-roller. {Besmia maculalis.) 



The grape leaf roller is a beautiful little moth, measuring about an inch from 

 tip to tip of the extended wings. It is iridescent black, and each wing has two 

 conspicuous white spots. In the male, the two spots of the hind-wing unite into 

 one elongated mark. The larva folds the leaf of grape, and feeds on the surface 

 inside the fold, skeletonizing the leaf, later the pupal stage is passed either in 

 the large fold, or in a smaller one made for the purpose. There are said to be 

 two broods a year in the North. 



BEIIEDIES. 



Hand picking is the most effective remedy. The work is conspicuous and the 

 picking can be cheaply done. Clean culture or the removal of rubbish, will do 

 away with many of the hibernating pupae. 



