ALLIED FAMILIES 



3073 



foliage. In 1852 whole forests were felled, in order if possible to be rid of the 



pest. The trunks were searched for eggs, and every tree trunk in an area of 



fourteen thousand acres was examined. Often an ounce of eggs would be taken 



from a single tree, and, at the computation of thirty thousand to the ounce, we 



get, at one hundred trees per acre, upward of thirty hundred million larvae at 



work upon the trees in that area when the eggs hatched. Spotted woodpeckers, 



finches of all kinds, the larva of a longicorn beetle, Clerus, all assisted in the work 



of destruction. Yet, in spite of all this, it needed a hundred laborers with twenty 



foremen to carry out the destruction 



of the young larvae hatched from 



eggs which were overlooked in a 



single acre of forest. The ground 



too, after the season was over, was 



white with the cocoons of countless 



thousands of Ichneumonidtz , so that 



millions of the larvae can never, from 



the attacks of these alone, have 



reached maturity. The pale tussock 



moth {Dasychira pudibunda) derives 



its trivial name from the tufts or 



tussocks of hair so noticeable a 



feature in the hairy clothing of the 



larvse. The fore-wings are gray with 



a smoky transverse bar. The larva is 



green with a transverse bar of velvet 



SATIN MOTH 



WITH LARV* AND 



PUPA. 



An ichneumon is depositing its eggs in one of the larvae, while 

 another is just emerging from the pupa. 



black between the segments from five 



to eight. Each of these segments bears a thick squarely truncated tuft of upright yel- 

 low hairs, and the last carries a long tail or brush of hair. The species is abundant 

 in England and all Europe. In the brown-tail moth {Porthesia chrysorrhcea) the 

 wings are snowy white, while the body is white with a brown tufted tail in the 

 male, which in the female is much larger. The hairs of the tuft are deposited upon 

 the eggs as a covering when laid by the female. The larva is short, thick, and 

 black, with four rows of spiny tubercles along the sides. It is common in Great 

 Britain and also on the Continent. Very similar to the last is the gold tail 

 (Porthesia auriflua}, but the front wings are dotted with three or more black spots, 

 while the tuft at the extremity of the abdomen is formed of golden hairs instead of 

 brown. The larva has rows of tubercles along the sides, whence issue numerous 

 hair-like bristles. Each of the tubercles of the second row bears tufts of white 

 hair. The third row is bright red. A bright vermilion double stripe runs along 

 the back, while between the tenth and eleventh segments is a cup-like scarlet 

 protuberance. The satin moth (Porthesia salicis} is another well-known mem- 

 ber of the family, taking its name from the white satiny wings; the antennae 

 and thorax being also white, and the body black, clothed with white hairs. 

 The larva feeds on the poplar, and is abundant in England and throughout 

 Europe. 

 193 



