420 FRUIT INSECTS 



References 



Riley, 3d Rept. Ins. Mo., pp. 61-63. 1871. 

 U. S. Dept. Agr. Farm. Bull. 284, p. 22. 1907. 

 Cal. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 192, pp. 129-132. 1907. 



The Eight-spotted Forester 

 Alypia octomaculata Fabricius 



Grape-vines growing in city gardens are especially likely to 

 be infested with the caterpillars of the eight-spotted forester 

 moth. In commercial vineyards this insect rarely attracts 

 attention. In New York the moths fly from the middle of May 

 until the middle of June. They have an expanse of about IJ 

 inches. The wings are velvety-black ; there are two pale yellow 

 spots on the front wings, and two white ones on the hind wings ; 

 the thorax and abdomen are black, at each side of the thorax 

 there is a pale yellowish tuft of hairs. The front and middle 

 legs are ornamented with tufts of orange hairs. They are day 

 fliers and are often seen hovering over flowers on the nectar of 

 which they feed. The full-grown caterpillar is about 1^ inches 

 in length; the head is yellowish, spotted with black; the 

 second and third segments have a transverse row of black spots 

 and lines. The first segment is pale orange in front ; each seg- 

 ment back of the third has a broad central orange band on each 

 side of which there are four narrow black bands; the second 

 and third segments lack the orange band, but are marked with 

 the narrow black bands ; each segment is crossed by a row of 

 black dots ; below there is a series of white spots on the fourth 

 to ninth segments ; there is a rounded hump near the hind end 

 of the body. The caterpillars are found on the vine from the 

 first of June until the first of August. The caterpillar trans- 

 forms to a pupa within a very shght cocoon upon or just below 

 the surface of the ground. 



