678 



AN INTRODUCTION TO ENTOMOLOGY 



Fig. 846.- 

 clusa. 



-Melalopha in- 



The Mocha-stone moths, Melalopha. — To the germs, Melalophahe- 

 long several species of brownish -gray moths, whose fore wings are 

 crossed by irregular whitish lines. It was these peculiar markings, 

 resembling somewhat those of a moss-agate, that suggested the 

 popular name given above. The larvae feed on poplar and willow, 

 and conceal themselves within nests made by fastening leaves to- 

 gether. Our most common species is the following. 



Melalopha inclusa. — The adult (Fig. 846) is a brownish-gray moth 

 with the fore wings crossed by three irregular whitish lines. The basal 

 line is broken near the middle of the wing ; and the intermediate one 

 forms an inverted Y, the main stem of which joins the third line near 

 the inner margin of the wing, making with it a prominent V. These 

 lines are bordered without by rust-red; there is a chocolate-colored 

 spot near the apex of the fore wings, and an irregular row of blackish 

 dots near the outer margin. The hairs of 

 the thorax form a prominent crest, the fore 

 side of which is a rich dark brown. The 

 hind wings are crossed by a wavy band, 

 which is light without and dark within. 

 The eggs are nearly spherical and smooth ; 

 They are deposited in a cluster a single layer 

 deep on a leaf (Fig. 847). When the larvae 

 hatch they make a nest either by fastening 

 several leaves together or, as is the case when they infest poplar, by 

 folding the two halves of a single leaf together; frequently in the latter 

 case the tip of the leaf is folded in as shown in the figure. Within 

 this nest the entire colony lives, feeding on the parench3Tna, and 

 causing the leaf to turn brown. Later other leaves are added to this 

 nest or additional nests are made among adjoining leaves. All of 

 these infested leaves are securely fastened to the twig by bands of 

 silk. When the larvae become large they leave their nests at night 

 to feed upon other leaves. These they entirely consume excepting 

 the petioles, midribs, and larger veins. We have seen on poplar 

 a nest composed of only three leaves which contained one hundred 

 and twenty-five 

 half-grown larvae ; 

 all of the leaves, 

 about thirty in 

 number, arising 

 from the end of the 

 branch bearing this 

 nest had been con- 

 sumed. 



The full-grown 



larva measures 35 p. _ 847— Eggs, larva, and nest of Melalopha inclusa. 

 mm. m length, it 



is striped with pale yellow and brownish black, and bears a pair of 

 black tubercles close together on the first abdominal segment, and a 

 similar pair on the eighth abdominal segment. The cocoon is an 



