202 INSECT LIFE. 



contains a colony of larvse — the young of a moth of 

 the genus Ichthyura, of which there are several spe- 



FiG. 167. — Eggs, larva, and nest of a mocha-stono moth. 



cies in this country. The moths are brownish gray, 

 with the fore wings crossed by irregular whitish 

 lines (Fig. 168). It was these peculiar markings, re- 

 sembling somewhat those of a moss-agate, that sug- 

 gested the popular name given above. In the case 

 of our most common species, the 

 ^^^^^s^'^^^^m nests are found in midsummer 

 ^^^^BBHH^r or later. The larvae, when 

 ^^^PH^^^W young, feed within the nest, but 

 ■ when they become large they 



A leave the nest at night to feed on 



Fig. 168. — A mocha-stone ^, , t^, 



moth. Other leaves. 1 he cocoons are 



made under leaves or other rub- 

 bish on the ground, and the adults do not emerge 

 until the following summer. These insects can be 

 easily bred by placing a nest in a breeding cage and 

 putting fresh branches of the food plant next to the 

 nest as often as necessary. 



The Silver-spotted Skipper, Epargyrcus tityrus 

 (Ep-ar-gy' re-US tit'y-riis). — If one will lie on his back in 



