2 7 6 



THE INSECT WORLD. 



The moth of the pyralis(Fig. 287) shows itself from the loth to the 

 2oth of June. It is yellowish, more or less shot with gold. When at 

 rest, its wings are folded back one over the other like a roof. Its 



Fig. 287. The Vine Pyralis. 



Fig. 288. Caterpillar of the Vine 

 Pyralis. 



flight is of short duration ; it contents itself with going from one vine 

 stock to another. 



It is at sunset mostly that you see the moths of the pyralis 

 fluttering about. They remain quiet during the day, particularly 

 when the sun is at its hottest. They 

 live on an average for ten days. The 

 females lay their eggs which are at 

 first green, then yellowish, then brown 

 on the lower surface of the leaves. 



The caterpillar of the pyralis 

 (Fig. 288) is called, in vulgar parlance, 



Fig. 289. Chrysalis of the vine Pyralis. according to the different places in 

 which it occurs, vine worm, summer 



worm, vintage worm, shell. In the south of. France it is called, 

 in the patois of Languedoc, babota. Almost immediately after 

 they leave the eggs, the little caterpillars hide themselves in the 

 fissures of the vine stocks or the props which support them. They 

 spin a small cocoon of a greyish silk, in which they remain curled up 

 till the month of May. From the moment the leaves begin to 



