LEPIDOPTERA 



209 



The lesser peach-tree borer, Synanthedon pictipes. — The larvae of 

 this species infest peach, plum, cherry, june-berry, beach-plum, and 

 chestnut. They do not confine their attacks to the crown but more 

 often occur on the trunk and larger branches. Both sexes of the adult 

 resemble the male of the peach-tree borer, having both fore and hind 

 wings transparent. 



The imported currant borer, Chamcesphecia tipuliformis . — This is a 

 small species, the adult having a wing-expanse of only about T \ of an 

 inch. There are but few scales on either pair of wings except on the tip 

 and discal vein of the fore wings and the outer margin of the hind wings. 

 The eggs are laid on the twigs of currant. The larvae penetrate the stem, 

 and make a burrow in which they live and undergo their transformations. 



Fig. 360. — Melittia satyriniformis, larva in squash-vine. 



The squash-vine borer, Melittia satyriniformis. — The larva of this 

 species (Fig. 360) does great damage by eating the interior of squash- 

 vines; it also sometimes infests pumpkin- vines and those of cucumber 

 and melon. It is most destructive to late squashes. When full-grown the 

 larvae leave the vines and enter the ground, where they make tough silken 

 cocoons, a short distance below the surface, in which the winter is passed. 

 The adults appear soon after their food -plants start growth. The fore 

 wings of the adult are covered with scales and the hind legs are fringed 

 with long, orange-colored scales. 



The pine clear-wing moth, Parharmonia pint. — Frequently there 

 may be seen on the trunks of pine-trees large masses of resinous gum 

 mingled with sawdust-like matter. These are the results of the work of 

 the larvae of this insect, which bore under the bark and into the super- 

 ficial layers of the wood. The adult resembles the female of the peach- 

 tree borer, but the abdomen is more extensively marked with orange 

 beneath. 



Family Tortricid^: 

 The Tortricids 



The so-called tortricid moths in the wider sense, include three families 

 of mostly small moths of which about 800 species from North America 

 have been described. They have broad front wings which usually end 

 squarely (Fig. 361). The costal margin of each front wing curves for- 

 ward strongly near the base of the wing. When the moths are at rest 

 the front wings fold above the body like a roof. 



The larvae vary greatly in habits. Many of them are leaf-rollers. 



