LEPIDOPTERA 



213 



The Pyraustids 



This group of the pyralids is a large one and although it contains 

 many small moths, it also contains a majority of the larger species of 

 this family. 



The grape leaf-folder, Desmia funerdlis. — This is a common species 

 throughout the United States, the larva of which feeds on the leaves of 

 grape. The larva folds the leaf by fastening two portions together by 

 silken threads. When full-grown it changes to a pupa 

 within the folded leaf. The moth is black with shining 

 white spots. The male (Fig. 366) differs from the female 

 in having a knot-like enlargement near the middle of each 

 antenna. There is some variation in the size and shape 

 of the white spots on the wings. In some specimens the fig. 366. — Desmia 

 white spot of the hind wings is separated into two or three 

 spots. There are two generations of this species in the North and three 

 or more in the South. 



The basswood leaf -rol- 

 ler, Pantographa limata. — • 

 Our basswood trees often 

 present a strange appear- 

 ance in late summer from 

 the fact that nearly every leaf is 

 cut more than half way across 

 the middle, and the end rolled 

 into a tube (Fig. 367). Within 

 this tube there lives a bright 

 green larva, with the head and 

 thoracic shield black. When full 

 grown the larva leaves this nest 

 and makes a smaller and more 

 simple nest, which is 

 merely a fold of one 

 edge of the leaf, or 

 sometimes an incision 

 is made in the leaf 

 extending around 

 about two-thirds of a 

 circle and the free 

 part bent over and 



fastened; in each case the nest is lined with 

 silk, thus forming a delicate cocoon. Here 

 the larvae pass the winter in fallen leaves. 

 The adult moth expands about i| inches; 

 it is straw-colored with many elaborate 

 markings of olive with a purplish irridescence 

 (Fig. 368). 



The melon-worm, Diaphama hyahnata. 



Fig. 368. — Pantographa limata. 



Fig. 367. — Nest of larva of Pantographa limata. 



This beautiful moth (Fig. 369) 



is often a serious pest in our 

 Southern States, where the larva is very destructive to melons and other 

 allied plants. The young larvae feed on the foliage; the older ones mine 



