436 



Journal of Agriculture, Victoria. [10 July, 1916. 



the native tribes, violent sickness is caused ; but, after becoming accus- 

 tomed to it — generally in a. few days — they thrive and fatten in a 

 remarkable manner upon it. The quantities of moths that may be 

 collected from one of the granite groups, it is calculated, would amount 

 to at least 5 or 6 bushels. These moths appear in countless millions near 

 Melbourne, at irregular intervals, in the summer evenings after a hot 

 day. When a- hot north wind is blowing, they are carried out to sea, 

 and when the tide comes in they can be seen strewn for miles along the 

 beaches at Sandringham, Mordialloc, Frankston, and other parts along 



the Bay; in fact, they can 

 be shovelled up in places. 

 The remedies recommended 

 for tomato moths will rid 

 gardens of these pests. 



Painted Apple Moth. 



The inroads that many 

 moths, whose natural food 

 plants grow in our bush, are 

 making into the orchards 

 and gardens of Victoria and 

 New South Wales is a sub- 

 ject well worthy of investi- 

 gation. 



The caterpillars of this 

 handsome little moth are 

 very destructive. In its 

 native state, it feeds upon 

 the foliage of a number of 

 different species of wattles, 

 but it is now almost 

 omnivorous in its habits. It 

 has been particularly plenti- 

 ful recently, and has at- 

 tacked apple®, quinces, 

 plums, also pelargoniums, 

 stocks, bouvardias, and 

 other garden plants. When 

 fully grown, the cater- 

 pillars measure about 1 inch 

 in length. They are clothed 

 in long hairs, with two 

 curious appendages project- 

 ing from near the tail. 



When fully grown, they crawl into any corner, and spin a loose, 

 light-brown, silken cocoon, through which the pupae can be seen. The 

 male moth measures about an inch across its outspread wings, of 

 which the fore pair are dark-brown, marbled with yellow and grey 

 markings. 



The female is much larger, and is wingless; its life is very short 

 for it crawls out of the cocoon, lays its eggs upon the top of it, and 

 dies. 



Fig. 13. — Cutworm Moths. 

 (Mamestra Evimji, and Agrotis sp.) 



