PINE CATERPILLARS. 787 



119. The snout-moth caterpillar. 



Order Lepidoptera ; family Pyralidj^. 



Larva. — Body with ten pairs of proplegs; body pale green, concolorous with the 

 leaves on which it feeds ; head small, much narrower than the body, of a very pale 

 amber color; a faint dorsal and two subdorsal linear pale lines. Lateral ridge pale 

 yellow. Each segment above with four black minute papillae arranged in a trapezoid, 

 and two on the side. AH the legs coucolorous with the body. Occurred August 17, 

 on pitch-pine at Bruuswick, Me. 



120. Tetralopha dihiculella Grote. 



Order Lepidoptera ; family Pyralidae. 



Feeding upon the leaves of the terminal twigs of pine, which they draw together 

 loosely with silk, and in which they deposit their excrements, the whole forming an 

 irregular mass nearly 3 inches long and 2 in thickness, stout, dull, greenish-yellow, 

 or drab-colored larvae, transforming into brownish pupae, from each of which emerges 

 a moth, with dark brown and gray markings. 



" Some of the terminal twigs of piue {Pinus taeda) infested by the larvae 

 of this insect were collected by myself in January, 1880, near Jackson- 

 ville, Fla. The appearance of these infested twigs is somewhat strik- 

 ing ; the leaves around the end are loosely held by threads of silk, 

 which also hold the excrements of the larva in a more or less irregu- 

 lar mass, varying from 1 to 3 inches in length, and from 1 to 2 inches in 

 thickness. 



" The larva is about eight-tenths of an inch in length, rather stout, of 

 a greenish yellow or drab color, with two very distinct, quite broad 

 black dorsal stripes, and a narrow one on each side. 



"When mature the larva descends to the ground, where it spins a 

 loose cocoon of yellowish brown silk, to which is attached a covering 

 of grains of sand or other loose materials, and within which it trans- 

 forms to a pupa, in which state it passes the winter 



" The moths from the larvae mentioned above emerged during the fol- 

 lowing April. They have an expanse of about an inch. The fore wings 

 are dark brown, nearly black on the basal third, beyond which is a 

 broad, light gray band crossing the wing, while the portion beyond the 

 band is dark brown followed by gray. Hind wings dark ashy, with a 

 silky luster. The colors are not as clear in the males. 



"Mr. Grote described this insect from examples taken in l!^ew York, 

 and stated as follows : 



The species recalls the figure of Hemimatia scortealis Led., but the wings are larger, 

 aud it does not seem possible that Lederer should have overlooked the strong generic 

 characters. 



" It certainly does agree closely with Lederer's description and figure, 

 and may yet prove to be that species, but Lederer's types must be ex- 

 amined to make sure of this, for it is possible that he made a mistake 

 in locating his species. A species of Microgaster was found parasitic 

 on this insect." (Comstock.) 



