LEPIDOPTERA. 343 



habits of their caterpillars. None of them, however, have be- 

 come so notorious on account of their devastations as the species 

 already described. 



4. Delta Moths. (Pyralides.) 



The Pyralides of Linnaeus are nearly akin to the Geometers. 

 Latreille called them Deltoides, because the form of the moths, 

 when their wings are closed, is triangular, like that of the 

 Greek letter A. For the same reason I have called them Delta- 

 moths. The body, in these moths, is long and slender. The 

 fore-wings are long and rather narrow, and cover the hind-wings 

 nearly horizontally when at rest. The feelers are generally very 

 long, flattened sidewise, and more or less turned up at the end. 

 The tongue in some is of moderate length, in others it is very 

 small or invisible. The antennas are long and generally simple or 

 bristle-formed in both sexes ; in some males, however, they are 

 feathered, and in a few others they have a singular knot or crook 

 in the middle. The legs are long and slender ; and the first pair 

 is often fringed with tufts of long hairs. Most of these moths fly 

 at night ; a few are on the wing in the daytime also. They 

 generally prefer moist and shady places, where the long grass 

 and thick foliage shelter them from the light and heat of the sun. 

 Some of them frequent houses. The meal-moth (PyraUs farina- 

 lis), the caterpillar of which may be found in old flour-barrels, is 

 often seen on the ceilings of rooms, sitting with its tail curved over 

 its back. The fore-wings of this pretty moth are light brown, 

 crossed by two curved white lines, and with a dark chocolate- 

 brown spot on the base and tip of each. The tabby, or grease- 

 moth (Aglossa pinguinalis) , the larva of which lives in greasy 

 animal substances, is also to be found in houses, and is known by 

 its narrow glossy wings, of a smoky gray color, crossed by wavy 

 lighter colored bands ; its tongue is not visible. The motions 

 of some of the day-flying kinds (Simaethis) are very curious. 

 When they alight upon a leaf, they whirl round sidewise, in a 

 circular direction, with the head in the centre of the circle, and 

 then return in the contrary direction, and repeat these gyrations 

 several times in succession. 



The larvae or caterpillars of the Delta-moths are long and 



