LEPIDOPTERA. 



265 



fore part of the thorax a conspicuous patch of darker color. 

 In most of our species the fore wings are also marked with a 

 dot near the center of the discal ( 

 cell and a bar on the discal vein.' 

 These moths belong to the genus 

 Lat ana. The common name, 

 Handmaid, is a translation of the 

 specific name of our most com- 

 mon species, D. ministra (D. 

 mi-nis'tra). But as this species 

 is now generally known as the Yellow-necked Apple-tree 

 Worm, and as all of our species are dressed in sober at- 

 tire as becomes modest servants, we have applied the term 

 Handmaid Moths to the entire genus. 



The larvae of the Handmaid Moths are easily recognized 

 by their peculiar habits. They are common on various fruit 

 and forest trees, but especially on apple, oak, and hickory. 

 They feed in colonies ; and have the habit of assuming the 



Fig. 312. — Datana. 



Fig. 313. — Datana, larva. 



curious attitude shown in Figure 313. The body is black or 

 reddish, marked with lines or stripes of yellow or white. 

 Owing to the gregarious habits of these larvae they can be 

 easily collected from the trees they infest. 



All of the species that we have studied agree in being 

 single-brooded, the moths appearing in midsummer; the 



