ATTACKING THE LEAVES. 



263 



FIG. 272. 



with black dots and a polished surface. When young, the 

 larva is paler, with less distinct markings ; it feeds on the 

 under side of the leaf, and 

 when alarmed can let itself 

 down to the ground by a silken 

 thread, regaining its position 

 by the same thread when the 

 danger is past. When nearly 

 full grown, it sometimes con- 

 ceals itself during the daytime 

 within a folded leaf. 



Before effecting its next 

 change, it moulds for itself an 

 earthen cell, upon or just below 

 the surface, which is not lined 



with silk, and within this enclosure is transformed into a 

 brown chrysalis, from which, in the early brood, the moth 

 escapes in a few days. There are usually two broods each 

 year, the moths appearing on the wing in May and August, 

 the caterpillars in June and July and in September. 



The moth is shown ate in the figure. It is a very beautiful 

 creature, of a deep blue-black color, with two large pale-yellow 

 spots on each of the front wings, and two white spots on each 

 of the hind wings. In the figure the female moth is repre- 

 sented ; the male has the spots on the wings proportionately 

 larger, and a conspicuous white mark along the tip of the 

 abdomen. The shoulder-covers are yellow, and the legs partly 

 orange. The wings, when spread, measure from an inch to 

 an inch and a quarter or more across. 



This insect is very generally distributed, being found in 

 most portions of the United States and Canada. Where the 

 larva proves destructive, it may be subdued by syringing the 

 foliage with Paris-green and water, in the proportion of a 

 teaspoonful to two gallons, or powdered hellebore and water, 

 in the proportion of one ounce to two gallons. 



