214 LEPIDOPTERA 



Close-wings (Crambidcp). — The close-wings are named 

 from the jiosition of the wings, which are folded down very 

 closely at the sides of the body and in many cases they 

 fit so close to the stem on which they rest that the moth 

 is completely hidden. Many of them are light yellowish 

 and straw-colored which blends quite well with the color 

 of the straw or grass on which they rest. The genus 

 Cr ambus includes fifty or sixty species, and most of them are 

 grass-feed in*g species that are to be considered as distinct 

 pests in pastures and meadows, though they only now and 

 then multiply in such numbers as to attract universal atten- 

 tion. These different species present dift'erent life histories 

 and these must be known in detail in order to treat them 

 intelligently. The most abundant species in the Mississippi 

 valley has the following life-cycle. The sod worm occurs in 

 the adult stage about the latter part of May or the first 

 of Jime and sometimes in very great abundance. They are 

 attracted by light. They deposit eggs at the times of flights 

 and normally deposit these over grass lands, and the eggs 

 are evidently scattered very generally and are extruded 

 singly, evidently with some force. They drop into the grass 

 and on the surface of the ground, and the larwne when hatched 

 feed at or near the surface or burro^^- a little below the 

 surface of the ground and form a silk-lined tube in which 

 they live and are protected mostly during the daytime, 

 coming to the surface at night to feed upon the fresh leaves. 

 In this way they cut grass off very near the surface of the 

 ground and it falls down and dries up, and is lost for hay and 

 pasturage. The plants are not killed outright. The effect 

 is similar to that of close pasturing of cows or sheep. If 

 the insects eat down into the ground the grass may be 

 killed. They attain their growth in the course of about four 

 or five weeks and pupate in August and the second genera- 

 tion of moths appears diu-ing the middle or latter part of 

 August. These may occur in large numbers if the season 

 is favorable. These deposit eggs and the larva? from these 

 begin feeding in autumn and become partially grown but 

 do not mature, remaining in the lar^■al stage over winter. 



