STEAWBERRY-LEAF BUTTON MOTH. 259 



Strawberries are still grown there) did much mischief to 

 Strawberry leafage in the neighbourhood of Dee Banks, 

 Chester. The notes were kindly forwarded to me in 1883 

 by Dr. Ellis, of Liverpool, to whom they had then been 

 communicated by Mr. Eichard A. Wrench, of Dee Banks : — 



" I enclose specimens of a grub which infests the Straw- 

 berries about here (Dee Banks, Chester), and does a great 

 deal of harm ; the bulk of the Strawberries for Liverpool 

 market are from here. I may say it usually makes its 

 appearance about the beginning of May, and lasts until about 

 the end of August, when it goes away. 



"Young Strawberry plants of twelve months old are never 

 affected; two-year-old plants are affected rather badly, but 

 three-year-old plants are invariably ruined. 



" I have two fields adjoining one another, the old field 

 utterly ruined by the grub, the next, only separated by a 

 hedge, perfectly clear; but next year, when it will be two 

 years old, it is sure to be full of blight." 



For the following description of the moth (P. ? comariana) 

 in its three stages I am indebted to Dr. Ellis : — 



''Larva. — Cylindrical, shining, slightly bristly; head glassy, 

 pale yellow, with brown spots on each side behind ; general 

 colour green, darker above, lighter below, with the dorsal 

 vessel well marked and darker. Feeds in May and early part 

 of June on Straivherry, draicing together the leaves and flowers 

 for this imrpose ; in the latter case feeding on the calyx and 

 receptacle. 



"■ Pupa. — Pale green, with reddish wing-cases and abdo- 

 minal segments. 



''Imago. — Fore wings very pale ochreous, slightly darker 

 on the hinder half ; near the middle of the costa is a dark 

 brown, nearly black, triangular blotch, reaching two-thirds 

 across the wing, and continued to the inner margin as a slight 

 brownish cloud. A dark patch on the inner margin indicates 

 the edge of the basal patch. Hind wings grey." 



Prevention and Eemedies. — Before we can be sure of 

 these we need fuller details of the life-history. So far as I 

 am aware, we do not know where the caterpillar turns to the 

 chrysalis condition; but it will be noticed in Dr. Ellis's 

 sketch that the caterpillar is suspended at the end of its 

 thread, and as it has the means of lowering itself to the 

 ground, it seems very likely that it may go down to the 

 ground, or to rubbish on the surface of the ground, for the 

 pupal change. No observation at least is made of pupation 

 taking place amongst the spun-up leaves, &c., in which the 

 caterpillar feeds. 



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