FAMILY TINEID^E. 253 



Tinea cerella ( Fabricius). Iloncycovib Matk. 



This motli is notorious lor its ik-predatioiis iu the beehive : ils larva feeds ujion Ihe 

 honeycomb, or beeswax. 



KoLLAR, iu his treatise on injurious insects, describes this moth in detail ; and from the 

 matter he has furnished, I have derived the following facts : 



The color of the male is yellowish ; the antenna*, head and back elaj-}elluw ; the 

 abdomen yellowish brown, and feet yellowish gray with lighter spots. Upon tlie back and 

 behinil the scutelluni tliere is a blackish brown tvift of hair, the point of which is white. 

 The iii)per wings are i)road, short anil obtuse, of a dusty ash-gray, lianded from the base 

 to the middle, and dotted with brown : the fringes are brownish w liile and jagged. The 

 hiudwings are light ash-gray, marked by a yellowish spot tn tlieir inner boundary. 



The female is larger than the male : her color is of a dark rusty brovtn on the head 

 and back ; the forewings are darker, obtuse and straight, while the liindw ings are much 

 lighter. Length of the male, six lijies : expanse of wing, one inch. 



The caterpillar is cylindrical and spindle-shaped, and, when fully grown, is nearly an 

 inch long : it is of a dirty white color, and has sixteen feet of a cream-color. 



Following its singvilar instincts, the larva, immediately after it is hatched, forms ils web 

 of silk, which becomes for it a covered way and protecting screen, wherewith it boldly 

 enters the hive if hatched without, and establishes its home in the midst of enemies. 

 "When the bees are at work, however, it docs not appear abroad ; but when they are at 

 rest during the night, it feeds voraciously upon the w^ax. It increases rapidly, and comes 

 to its full size in about three weeks : it then makes its web stronger, and is transformed 

 to a pupa. If it is late in the season, it remains till spring before it changes to an imago. 



The elfect of these intruders is first to diminish the wax of the bee-cells, which occasions 

 the loss of the honey ; and when this takes place extensively from the presence of nu- 

 merous larvEP, the bees cease workiiis. 



There are two generations of mollis in a season, according to Kollar ; the first appearing 

 early in the spring, and the second in July. The female lays her eggs in the cracks of the 

 lower part of the hive, in the night, and the larvae feed at first upon the young comb ; but 

 they afterwards ascend to the upper part of the hive, where the older kind is deposited. 



Many inventions have been priiposed and resorted to, to secure the bees from these 

 intruders : none, it is said, succeed perfectly ; and so far from requiring no attention, it 

 is maintained byKoLLAR that the only sure method of cleansing beehives from this moth 

 is to look after and destroy them, i)olh larva* and pujJE. The moth is fond of sweets, and 

 may therefore hv attracted to dishes of sweetened water and vinegar in the night, and by 

 that means may be drowned : sonic other kinds of obnoxious moths may be destroyed in 

 the same manner. 



