LEPIDOPTERA. 371 



4. Delta INIoths. [Pyralides.) 



The PvRALiDEs of Linnaeus are nearly akin to the Geome- 

 ters. Latreille called them Deltoides, because the form of the 

 moths, when their wings are closed, is triangular, like that of 

 the Greek letter A. For the same reason I have called them 

 Delta-moths. The body, in these moths, is long and slender. 

 The fore wings are long and rather narrow, and cover the hind 

 wings nearly horizontally when at rest. The feelers are gener- 

 ally very long, flattened sidewise, and more or less turned up 

 at the end. The tongue in some is of moderate length, in 

 others it is very small or invisible. The antennae are long and 

 generally simple or bristle-formed in both sexes; in some males, 

 however, they are feathered, and in a few others they have a 

 singular knot or crook in the middle. The legs are long and 

 slender; and the first pair is often fringed with tufts of long 

 hairs. Most of these moths fly at night ; a few are on the 

 wing in the daytime also. They generally prefer moist and 

 shady places, where the long grass and thick foliage shelter 

 them from the light and heat of the sun. Some of them fre- 

 quent houses. The meal-moth {Pyralis farinalis), the cater- 

 pillar of which may be found in old flour-barrels, is often seen 

 on the ceilings of rooms, sitting with its tail curved over its 

 back. The fore wings of this pretty moth are light brown, 

 crossed by two curved white lines, and with a dark chocolate- 

 brown spot on the base and tip of each. The tabby, or grease- 

 moth (Ag-Iossa pinguinalis), the larva of which lives in greasy 

 animal substances, is also to be found in houses, and is known 

 by its narrow glossy wings, of a smoky gray color, crossed by 

 wavy lighter colored bands; its tongue is not visible. The 

 motions of some of the day-flying kinds {Sima'ethis) are very 

 curious. When they alight upon a leaf, they whirl round 

 sidewise, in a circular direction, with the head in the centre of 

 the circle, and then return in the contrary direction, and repeat 

 these gyrations several times in succession. 



The larvae or caterpillars of the Delta-moths are long and 

 slender, tapering at each end, and naked, or with only a few 

 short hairs, which are rarely visible to the naked eye. Some 



