ATTACKING THE LEAVES. 



259 



near the base. There are also two brownish si)ots near the 

 middle of the wing, one round, the other kidney-shaped ; 

 these are sometimes so covered with pearly-white scales as to 

 be indistinct above, but are clear and striking on the under 

 side. Tlie hind wings are deep yellow, with a broad brownish- 

 purple band along the hinder margin, extending nearly to the 

 outer angle, and powdered with a few pearly- white scales ; 

 there is a faint dot on the middle of the wing, which is more 

 prominent on the under side. The head is black, and there 

 is a wide black stripe down the back, merging into a series 

 of black spots extending to near the tip of the abdomen, 

 which is tufted with white. The shoulder-covers are white, 

 and the sides of the body deep yellow, with a row of black 

 dots along each side close to the under surface. The winsrs 

 beneath are reddish yellow, and the body white. The moth 

 appears during the latter part of June or early in July, and 

 is active at night. 



The eggs are laid on the under side of the leaves, singly or 

 in small groups, and are among the prettiest of insect eggs ; 

 they are circular and very flat (see e and /, Fig. 269), about 

 one-thirtieth of an inch in diameter, and less than half of 

 that in thickness. They 

 are yellowish, or greenish 

 yellow, and are beautifully 

 sculptured with radiating 

 ribs from a central round 

 dot, the ribs interlaced with 

 gracefully curving lines. 



On escaping from the 

 egg, the young larvae are yellowish green, dotted with black , 

 they eat small holes in the leaves, and, when at rest, throw 

 the hinder segments of the body forward over the anterior 

 ones, making a curious sort of loop; as they grow larger 

 they devour all parts of the leaf, the framework as well as 

 the softer substance. When mature, they are about an inch 

 and a half long, and appear as shown at a in Fig. 269. The 



Fig. 209. 



