404 



Marvels of Insect Life* 



PJioto by] 



'0 m 



The Magpie-Moth. 



[ir. Bngshmc 



The conspicuous colouring of the magpie-moth — spots and bands 

 of black and yellow on a whitish ground — indicates that it is 

 not good to eat. As though conscious of this fact the moth 

 exposes itself freely everywhere. 



and weighed immediately after death, and 

 their average weight was •076 grm. The 

 average weight of the thirty stones was 

 ■347 grm., and, therefore, was 4-5 times 

 the average weight of the wasp. Similar 

 observations were made by him on a colony 

 of Vespa vulgaris, and it was found that in 

 the case of that species the average weight 

 of these stone nodules was 37 times the 

 average weight of the wasp, a difference, 

 no doubt, due to the wing area of the last- 

 named species being less than that of the 

 first. In this connection it should be 

 remembered that the weight is always 

 carried in the jaws of the wasp. 



The Magpie-Moth. 



Every possessor or frequenter of a garden knows this moth, though it may be 

 under the name of gooseberry-moth or currant-moth, ^ these alternatives indicating 

 two of its special preferences in the way of food whilst in the caterpillar stage. 

 But although it becomes specially noticeable when it attacks our fruit-bushes, it 

 is a pretty general feeder, and among other things often abounds on the Japanese 

 spindle, or garden euonymus, which is frequently grown as a garden hedge. The 

 reason for its being so well known to those who are not particularly interested in 

 observing Insects is that in all its stages it is at no pains to hide itself ; instead, 



it seems to thrust itself upon our atten- 



tion. 



and the gardener who suffers from 



Photo by] [£. Step, F.L.S. 



The Emergence of the Magpie. 



A caterpillar had spun its flimsy cocoon under the rail of a fence, 

 and changed to the shiny chrysalis, which is ringed with yellow 

 on a black ground. This can be discerned dimly in the deep 

 shadow of the rail, but the moth that has just escaped from the 

 chrysalis and the cocoon is fully exposing itself whilst its wings 

 are expanding and hardening. 



^ Abraxas 



its depredations cannot plead that the 

 mischief went forward without his know- 

 ledge. The pretty caterpillar, striped and 

 spotted with black and red on a ground 

 of cream v white, is a most noticeable 

 pest, and carries on its nefarious work 

 fully exposed in the light of day. Even 

 the black, glossy chrj^salis, with its bright- 

 3^ellow bands, is prominent through the 

 slight veil that is spun up on leaf or 

 paling; and the stronglj' marked black, 

 white, and yellow moth flaps along lazily 

 as though conscious that it has not an 

 enemy among birds, beasts, or reptiles. 

 There is no effort at concealment here ; 

 whether the moth settles on leaf or flower, 

 tree-trunk or garden-fence, it is equally 

 conspicuous. In the light of the theory of 



rossulariata. 



