88 GOOSEBERRY. 



from the head and continumg to the eleventh inchisive, is an 

 obhque darkish mark on each side of each segment ; these 

 slant backwards, so that the pair meeting at the centre of the 

 back form a series of V-like markings, with the point of the 

 V directed backwards. The foremost pair of these markings, 

 as shown in the figure, are the darkest. Beneath these 

 oblique marks is a wavy stripe running along the side, and 

 beneath this again are five oblique bands (slanting in the 

 opposite direction to the uppermost row), of wdiich four run 

 down the sucker-legs. The length, when full-grown, is an 

 inch and a half or rather more. It is to be found in summer 

 and autumn, and when full-fed, which may be towards the 

 end of September, buries itself in the ground to go through 

 its changes. 



The sudden disappearance of such great numbers of large 

 grubs, when their time for change to the chrysalis state has 

 come, sometimes causes some astonishment. On Oct. 2nd 

 my correspondent at Leicester wrote me that the large cater- 

 pillars on the Gooseberry bushes had " vanished as if by 

 magic." But they simply leave their food-plants and bury 

 themselves to turn to chrysalids in the earth, where they rest 

 from October until May or late in June in the following year. 



The moth is of the size figured at p. 86 ; the fore wings of 

 a rich dark brown, or black ground varied with chestnut or 

 rust-colour, and small pale spots or flecks at the tips and near 

 the hinder edge, and they also bear a conspicuous bright 

 white patch, or "dot" (of the shape figured near the centre), 

 from which the moth takes its name. The hinder wings have 

 the lower half pale, with a broad dark smoky band towards 

 the margin, and the nervures are very observable. The eggs 

 are laid up to twenty or thirty on the food-plants of the 

 caterpillars. 



Prevention and Eemedies. — Hand-pickhig is a certain 

 means of lessening amount, as these large caterpillars can be 

 easily seen and removed ; and recurrence of attack from the 

 moths developed from chrysalids which have wintered in the 

 ground may be prevented, or at least much lessened, by stir- 

 ring the soil where there have been infested plants, so as to 

 turn th.e pupae up to the surface. Exposure to weather, 

 especially to alternate frost and wet, when not in their natural 

 shelters, may be expected to kill many of them ; and also 

 birds of various kinds would help much in their removal. 



Syringings with soft-soap, kerosine emulsion, and other 

 similar applications, to which references will be found in the 

 Index, would almost certainly do good ; and it is very possible 

 that good drenchings of thorougJdy cold water would do all 



