THE OWL MOTHS 



3075 



knot (Hadena basilinea} is a well-known example. In this moth the fore- wings are 

 gray brown, with a central transverse darker band, and a distinct dark streak at 

 the base of the wing. The larva is gray brown, with three white lines along the 

 back. It feeds on various kinds of grass, and often on the ears of wheat devouring 

 the corn grains. As its scientific name implies, the pine moth ( Trachea piniperdd) 

 is in the larval state very destructive to pine trees in seasons favorable to a great 

 increase in their number. When young, they spin together the needles of the 

 pines, and often drop themselves by a thread to various points, whither they may 

 feel inclined to descend. The pupa may be found in plenty among the moss which 

 so often carpets the ground in pine woods. The moth itself is cinnamon fed, with 

 white blotches and spots. It is common in England and on the Continent. A 

 figure of the moth and the larva is given on p. 3068. Themerveil du jour {Dipthera 

 orion}, figured in the accompanying illustration, indicates another subfamily (Acon- 

 tince} . It has the fore- wings of a pale green, with longitudinal white stripes, and three 



1. MERVEIL DU JOUR, WITH LARVA ; 2. RUSTIC SHOULDER KNOT, WITH LARVA ; 3. FIGURE-OP-EIGHT 



MOTH, WITH LARVA. 



broken transverse black bars, the fringe being spotted with black and white. The 

 egg is described as resembling a sea urchin, having twenty sinuous ribs. The larva 

 is black, with large primrose yellow spots on the back of the third, fifth, and eighth 

 segments. It feeds in September upon the oak and birch, and the pupa is inclosed 

 in a cocoon of bark chips, or fragments of decayed wood. This insect is very rare 

 in England, but common on the Continent. In the same group, the caterpillar of 

 the white-spotted pinion (Cosmia diffinis}, as well as that of the closely-allied 

 C. trapezina, are remarkable for their habit of preying upon their fellow caterpillars 

 if confined together, otherwise their food consists of the leaves of various trees. 

 The moth of the species figured in the illustration is very beautiful, being of a 

 satiny chestnut, suffused with reddish gray, and having two somewhat transverse 

 slashes'from the margin of the wing. Not uncommon in England, it is even more 

 abundant on the Continent. The crimson underwings (Catocala) , which indicate 

 another subfamily (GTtadrifince] , and are known in the New Forest as the crimsons, 



