40 



with transverse bands, the hindwings being pale greyish white 

 with a darker zig-zag line running across them. The female is 

 quite wingless and brown in colour with a pencil or tuft of 

 hairs at the hind end of the body. The eg^s tire laid round 

 the twigs in bands or rows and embedded in the clown or hairs 

 from the hind tuft of the female. The egg bands somewhat 

 resemble those of the Lackey, but are, of course, visiblv 

 smaller. 



The caterpillar is yellowish green with a darker green line 

 down the back, edged with yellow, and there arc pale yellowish 

 lines at the sides. It is more slender than the caterpillar of 

 the Winter Moth, but is difficult to distinguish from it. The 

 pupal or chrysalis stage is spent in the ground in a similar 

 way to that of the Winter Moth. 



. The Mottled Umber Moth is about twice the size of the 

 Winter Moth. The male has the forewiugs pale brown or 

 brownish yellow banded and mottled with dark brown as is 

 shown in Fig. 2, the hindwings being paler with a brown spot 

 near their middle. The female is wingless, the yellow brown 

 body having two dark spots on every segment. 



The moths normally appear from the first week in October 

 to the middle of December, but occasionally are seen in 

 January or even February. The eggs are rather larger than 

 those of the two foregoing species, somewhat longer in shape 

 and rusty coloured. As many as 400 are deposited by one 

 female. 



The caterpillar when full grown is much larger than those 

 of the Winter and March Moths and quite distinct in coloura- 

 tion, being chestnut brown (sometimes yellow brown) above 

 and yellow on the sides and underneath, with a wavy dark 

 stripe on each side of the brown. When full grown it descends 

 to the ground in a similar way to the other two species to form 

 a chrysalis. It is the caterpillar of the Mottled Umber which 

 contributes largely to the serious defoliation of oaks and other 

 forest trees which in some years is so noticeable. 



Natural Enemies The insects just described are subject 

 to the attacks of numerous insect parasites, and birds also 

 devour them in large numbers. It is possible that the fluc- 

 tuations in numbers which are so characteristic of Winter 

 Moths may in. part be due to the presence or absence of their 

 natural enemies, but in any case it is clear that the fruit- 

 grower, cannot depend on their aid for keeping the pesfs 

 sufficiently in check. 



Methods of Control. Winter Moths may be controlled 

 either by banding the trees in autumn to catch the 

 \vinglfss females as they ascend the trunks or by .spraying the 

 foliage in spring to kill the larvae. The former method, is 

 most in use and will be found effective in the case of standard 



