264 



Insect Pests. 



THE DOT MOTH. 



(Mamestra pcrsicaricc. Linn.) 



The Dot Moth caterpillars are very frequently recorded as pests 

 on the gooseberry. Their food plants are varied ; as a rule garden 

 flowers suffer most, such as dahlias, marguerites, marigolds, pansies, 

 geums, etc. ; vegetables are also eaten by these larva?, including 

 cabbages of all kinds, lettuce, mint, parsley ; fruit trees and bushes 

 are also attacked ; there are numerous accounts of their feeding on 

 the gooseberry and now and again on apple, plum, raspberry, currant. 



[F. Edenden. 

 FIG. 185. MOTH AND CATERPILLAR OF THE DOT MOTH (Mamestra persicariir). 



Other plants upon which it feeds are lilac, poplar, clematis, ivy, 

 etc. (1). 



They are ravenous feeders, stripping the plants in a very short 

 time. 



This insect is found all over Great Britain and in most parts of 

 Continental Europe. 



The caterpillars are subject to great variation in colour, apparently 

 influenced to some extent by their food; the colouring rendering 

 them often extremely difficult to find when at rest upon their food 

 plant. 



