FEATHER-WING MOTHS. ; 219 
FAMILY PTEROPHORIDAY OR FEATHER-WING MOTHS. 
This is a very interesting little family of small slim 
moths, which are distinguished by having long slender legs 
and long narrow fore-wings split into lobes, feathers or 
plumes. Occasionally the fore-wings have only one cleft or 
fissure which does not extend beyond the middle, but some- 
times they are split their full length. The hind-wings may be 
divided into from four to six lobes or feathers. As a general 
rule these insects are not very common or infest wild plants; 
some, however, can become quite injurious to cultivated 
ones. It is strange how rapidly insects of all kinds will 
increase in numbers if food is abundant and enemies scarce. 
We had an interesting case near the Experiment Station 
some years ago. A good many new streets were opened 
and the soil taken from them, in most cases clear sand, was 
thrown upon some low lots with the view of raising them 
to the level of the street. Upon this sand nothing would 
grow for two seasons but the common thistle, which flour- 
ished, however, to such an extent as to form an impenetrable 
wilderness. About the time that the first flowers were 
ready to expand all the terminal branches of the plants died 
and it was found that each branch was inhabited by a single 
caterpillar of a feather-winged moth. The thistles, how- 
ever, recovered, and each plant sent out a number of new 
branches, which produced a large number of flower buds; 
they were also destroyed by a second generation of these 
moths, which in turn were killed by parasites, so that after 
all the plants succeeded in producing numerous seeds but 
very much later than usual. 
THE RASPBERRY PLUME. 
(Oxyptilus tenuidactylus Fitch). 
This is a very beautiful little moth and by no means very 
uncommon. It measures about an inch across the expanded 
wings. The head and thorax are dark tawny-brown with a 
