THE POTATO MOTH. 147 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 



THE POTATO MOTH. 



{Lita solanella. Boisd.) 



Order : Lepidoptera. Group : Tmeina. Family : Gelechidce. 



In this little motli tlie potato-grower of many countries 

 has in all probability his very worst insect enemy, not 

 excepting, perhaps, the Colorado beetle itself. 



The perfect insect is a small, narrow, brown and grey 

 moth, about seven lines across the wings when expanded 

 (see Fig. 1a). 



The larva is of a pinkish colour, size as given at Fig. 5, 

 slightly enlarged. 



Although there exists much difference of opinion as to 

 how the tubers of the potato are first attacked, I must 

 agree entirely with M. Ragouet, of Paris (as quoted by 

 Mr. Meyrick), that "the eggs are laid on the young shoots 

 of the plant ; that the larvse, as soon as hatched, eat into 

 the root stock and descend until they reach a tuber ; and 

 that they remain in this, eating galleries completely 

 through its substance, during the remainder of their 

 larval existence." The larvse, Mr. Meyrick goes on to 

 say, pupated within their galleries, which they closed 

 with silk. These descriptions agree entirely witli the 

 results of my own observations and that of practical 

 growers who have taken the trouble to work the matter 

 out for themselves. 



Mr. O. Tepper, of Adelaide, a good observer and an 

 old friend, gives it as his opinion that the female moth 

 deposits her eggs in the stem just above the ground, 

 thereby bearing out in all the more important details the 

 observations of M. Ragouet, alluded to above. 



It has been stated that the insect is not in the potato 

 while the latter is in the ground, and from these remarks 



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