2i 4 THE STUDY OF INSECTS 



into the stems and fruit. The insect passes the winter as a pupa in 

 loose silken cocoons in dead leaves or under rubbish. The moth is 



Fig. 369. — Diaphania hyalinata: larvae, cocoon, and adults. 



a superb creature, with glistening white wings bordered with black, and 

 with a spreading brush of long scales at the end of the abdomen. 



The pickle-worm, Diaphania nitidalis. — This species is closely allied 

 to the preceding one. The wings of the moth are yellowish-brown with 

 a purplish metallic reflection; a large irregular spot on the front wings 

 and the basal two-thirds of the hind wings are semitransparent yellow. 

 The tip of the abdomen is ornamented with a brush of long scales, as in 

 the preceding species. The range and habits of this species are quite 

 similar to those of the melon-worm. 



The cabbage webworm, Hellula undalis. — This species infests various 

 cruciferas in the Gulf and South Atlantic States. The larva is about | of 

 an inch in length, of a grayish-yellow color, striped with five brownish- 

 purple bands. 



The garden webworm, Loxostege similalis. — This species is _ most 

 injurious in the Southern States and in the Mississippi Valley. It infests 

 various garden crops and corn and cotton. The larva varies in color 

 from pale and greenish-yellow to dark yellow and is marked with numer- 

 ous black tubercles. 



The European corn-borer, Pyrausta nubilalis. — This is a greatly 

 feared pest which has recently appeared in this country. It is a borer in 

 the stems of plants, in which it winters as a partly grown larva. Its 

 favorite food appears to be corn and especially sweet corn; but it infests 

 other cultivated plants, as dahlias and gladiolus, and many large-stemmed 

 weeds. The full-grown larva measures about £ of an inch in length ; the 

 adult moth has a wing-expanse of from 1 to ij inches. 



