SNOUT MOTHS 



3083 



PEA MOTH AND I,ARVA. 



member of the same family is the oak tortrix (Tortrix viridana), figured on the 

 opposite page. This beautiful little moth, bright green with shining gray hind- 

 wings, may be found flying about in June in swarms in woods where oak trees 

 abound. The larvae which feed on the leaves, and roll themselves carefully within 

 the folded leaves, are sometimes so numerous as to become a perfect pest. Acres 

 and acres of oak plantation may be seen completely stripped of the foliage, while 

 the green moths flutter about in countless thousands. The pupal state is passed in 

 a folded leaf or in the chinks of the bark or other suitable crevice. The larch 

 tortrix (Retina biwlinana} is a bright, foxy red moth with habits very similar to 

 those of the last-named species. The moth may be seen in July flying among the 

 trees in young plantations, and laying its eggs among the buds at the tip of the 

 shoots. The larvae are hatched in the autumn and commence to gnaw the buds, 

 giving rise to the exudation of resin. A 

 figure of this moth, with its larva and 

 pupa, will be found in the illustration on 

 p. 3073. In the allied pine gall tortrix (J?. 

 resinella) the adult has dark fore- wings, 

 streaked and mottled with transverse 

 silvery bars and blotches. The larva 



feeds within the stem of the buds of the pine needles, their ravages causing a drop 



of resin to exude from the twig which grows larger as the activities of the internal 



burrower increase. If the drop of resin be examined a small passage at the base 



2 3 will be found passing into the pith of the 



pine twig, and here the larva may be 

 found. This lump of sticky gum, which 

 attains the size of a filbert, and in which 

 the larva passes the pupal state, has been 

 misnamed a gall; but a gall is not an ex- 

 uding juice or gum it is a distinct out- 

 growth of the cellular structure of the 

 plant. The cut on p. 3082 gives illustra- 

 tions of the moth, the resin drop, and the 

 pupa. A figure is also given of the ich- 

 neumon fly, which seeks the larva with its 



1. COD MOTH; 3 . Its caterpillar; 3. MBA, MOTH. lon S needle-like Ovipositor; and from its 



(Natural size.) eggs emerge the grubs which will in due 



course devour their nest. An especial 



interest attaches to the pea moth (Grapholitha dorsana), whose larva is the so- 

 called maggot which attacks green peas. When full fed it seeks the earth, and con- 

 structs a cell in which to pass the pupal stage. These larvae also are not averse to 

 a provender of dry peas, to which it often causes considerable destruction. The moth 

 appears on the wing in May. The well-known codling moth (G. pomonelld} takes 

 its name from the circumstance that the larva feeds within apple trees, eating, 

 however, not so much the flesh as boring into the heart and feasting upon the pips. 

 It is rosy red, paler beneath, with gray tubercles, each bearing a long bristle. 



