BOM 



94 



BOM 



caterpillars repair to the stems of the | and oak most plentifully; elm very 

 trees, or to walls and hedges, where! plentifully; most fruit trees the same ; 

 they make for themselves cases of moss, blackthorn plentifully; rose-trees the 



lime, dust, and small chips of wood 

 oval on the upper side and flat below, 

 in which they do not become pupa: till 

 the third week. The pupa small, cylin- 

 drical, reddish-brown, dull, in some 

 degree powdered with blue. 



" The perfect insect or moth mea- 

 sures, with e.ftended wings, from tip to 

 tip, one inch and from six to nine lines. 

 The forewings bluish grey, rather shin- 



same ; on the willow and poplar scarce. 

 None have been noticed on the elder, 

 walnut, ash, fir, or herbaceous plants. 

 With respect to fruit trees, the injuries 

 they sustain are most serious, as in 

 destroying the blossoms as yet in the 

 bud, they also destroy the fruit in em- 

 bryo ; the owners of orchards, there- 

 fore, have great reason to be alarmed. 

 " This moth is so closely related to 



ing, divided by three incisions at the ! the yellow-tailed moth, and its habits 



sides, and situated between two blackish 

 undulated cross lines, have been some- 

 times compared to a pair of spectacles 

 (or a figure of eight)." 



B. luhricipeda. Spotted buff moth. 

 The caterpillars of this feed on the 

 leaves of elder, horse-radish, lilacs, 



so similar, that the means suggested 

 for the destruction of the one may be 

 advantageously ai'opted for the other. 



" In the month of June, when al- 

 most full grown, this caterpillar mea- 

 sures nearly two inches, and is of the 

 thickness of a very thick quill ; it is 



beans, |uid indeed seem to be oninivo- | very juicy, of a yellowish-green colour, 



with black tubercles, each of which 

 bears a single hair, and has three pale 

 yellow stripes, running longitudinally ; 

 the middle one extending rather broadly 

 along the back. It has a small bluish 

 head, with two black round spots on it. 



" At the time of pupation, these cat- 

 erpillars repair to the stems of the 

 trees, or to w^lls and hedges, where 

 they make for themselves cases of 

 moss, lime-dust, and small chips of 

 wood, oval on the upper side, and flat 

 below, in which they do not become 

 pupae till the third week. The pupa is 

 small, cylindrical, reddish-brown, dull 

 in some degree, powdered with blue." 

 — Kollar. 



B. antiqua, Vapourer, or brown tus- 

 sock moth. This moth appears from 

 August to October. Mr. Curtis informs 

 us that — " The males then fly about in 

 pursuit oftheir consorts, who are desti- 



rous. The larva; appear in June and 

 July, and are thus described by Mr. 

 Curtis : — 



"The back is dark green, and the 

 under side pale green, with a wavy 

 white line down each side, from the 

 head to the tail. The spiracles also 

 are white; the whole animal is covered 

 with little nist-coloured cushions, which 

 produce brushes of longish reddish- 

 brown hairs, so that it resembles a 

 little bear's skin. When full grown, 

 they retire to the stems of plants and 

 the chinks in walls, to change to black 

 shining chrysalids, in an oval loose 

 cocoon, composed of silk, and the hairs 

 from their skin. 



" The moth rests with its wings de- 

 flexed ; is of a pale ochre, or buff 

 colour; the antenna are black, and 

 bipectinated in the male; the eyes, 

 palpi, and legs are also black, except- 



ing the thighs, which are of an orange tute of wings, and afterdepositing alarge 

 colour, and the tibia and tarsi are va- number of eggs, fall down exhausted and 

 riegatfd with huff; the upper wings die. These eggs are somewhat ovate, 

 have two long black spots upon the i depressed, and hollow on the crown, 

 costal margin, with one or more dots 

 near the base, in a transverse line. As 

 the moths stick about plants and walls, 

 often in pairs, in May and June, they 



round which is a brown ring. They 

 are of a pinky-white colour, and are 

 fastened as they are laid, by a gluti- 

 nous substance, to the bark of the tree, 

 are easily detected, and it becomes ' or whatever the parent happens to rest 



necessary to kill them to prevent the 

 havoc they make with the foliage." — 

 Card. Chron. 



B. phtEorrhaa. Brown-tailed moth. 

 M. Kollar states that — " According to 

 Curtis, the caterpillar of the brown- 

 tailed moth is found on the hawthorn 



upon, frequently to the web containing 

 the shell of the pupa; they are hatched 

 the following April, when the larvae 

 attack a great variety of trees, feeding 

 upon the leaves of roses, brambles, the 

 apple, plum, sloe, hawthorn, oak, lime, 

 alder, and sallow. The caterpillars 



