Pyraliiiae 



This troublesome little species is no doubt an importation from 

 Europe, where it is very common. It has spread from the Atlantic 



to the Rocky Mountains. It 

 has the habit of infesting 

 stacks of clover-hay, and 

 often does a great deal of 

 damage by weaving its webs 

 of fine whitish silk mixed 

 with excrement in the hay 

 and devouring the leaves. 

 Many cases have been re- 

 ported in which hay had been 

 rendered entirely unfit for use 

 by the presence ofthese pests. 

 As the larvae feed upon 

 dried clover, it has been rec- 

 ommended to make it a 

 point not to stack new hay in places where the old hay is known 

 to have been infected. Furthermore, as the larvre are known to 

 prefer hay which is somewhat moist, it is recommended to make 

 it a point to stack the hay in such a manner that it cannot be 

 subjected to an excess of moisture. This may be done by build- 

 ing the stacks upon a framework of rails elevated a little distance 

 above the ground, so as to permit of the circulation of air beneath. 



Fig. 221. — Hypsopygia costalis. i-2, 

 larvjE ; 3, cocoon ; 4, pupa ; 5-6, moth ; 7, 

 larva covered with silken web. (After 

 Riley.) 



Genus PYRALIS Linnaeus 



(i) Pyraiis farinalis Linnseus, Plate XLVll, Fig. 53, ? . (The 



Meal Snout-moth.) 



This is a cosmo- 

 politan species, being 

 quite abundant every- 

 where. It manifests 

 a decided preference 

 for cereals in almost 

 any form, and feeds 

 upon meal, bran, and 

 even the straw and 

 husks. It undergoes 



Fig. 27.2. — Pyralts farinalis. a, moth; i, larva; 

 c, cocoon. (After Chittenden, " Bull. U. S. Dept. 

 Agric," New Series, Vol. IV, p. 119.) All figures 

 twice the size of life. 



400 



