150 Forty-ninth Report on the State Museum 



insect giving its past history, its natural history, remedies for it, and 

 descriptions and figures of its three stages. 



Life-history. 



Its life-history, as given by Prof. Riley, is essentially the following : 



The moths are seen abroad in the evenings, or on cloudy days of May^ 

 June, and July, especially as they are flitting around infested clover stacks; 

 if these are near dwelling-houses, they are often attracted to lights in the 

 rooms. The eggs are presumably deposited on the stacked clover by the 

 moths creeping into them for that purpose. The caterpillar hves within 

 a dehcate cyHnder of silk, which it spins. There are probably two or 

 more broods during the year, as active caterpillars of all sizes are to be 

 found in midwinter. The cocoons are formed near the outside of, or 

 entirely away from, the stack or mow. 



The above is not very full, and is, as may be seen, in part problemati- 

 cal. Prof. Webster of the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station has 

 materially added to it through experiments made with the caterpillars 

 taken late in April and reared in breeding cages, where they fed on dry 

 hay from an infested stack. On May 25th the first pupee were observed, 

 and moths commenced to issue therefrom June 12th. Growing clover 

 plants were potted and placed in breeding cages, in the heads of which, 

 it was thought, eggs were deposited. On July ist young larvae, from 

 quite small to half-grown, were found in the heads, now turning brown, 

 but the leaves continumg green. Full-grown larvae and pupte were 

 taken from the cages on August 6th, and on the 8th, moths (of the second 

 brood) began to emerge. The latter were given fresh growing clover 

 plants, in the heads of which larvae were found August 15th. 



P'rom the above, Prof Webster infers that eggs may be laid by the 

 moth on plants m the field, and the larvse subsequently carried to the 

 stack or mow : and also that moths may oviposit in the stacks in the 

 field early in August {Joe. cit.). 



Injuries by the Insect. 

 As illustrating the injuries that may follow the presence of this insect, 

 Prof. Webster states that a stack of hay in Hudson, Summit county, 

 Ohio, of about twenty tons, fully three-fourths of which was timothy, had 

 been damaged fully 50 per cent. In other cases in the vicinity, stacked 

 hay had been so badly injured by the insect that it had been burned on 

 the ground during the months of September and October {loc. cit.). 



