106 



BEITISH MOTHS. 



237. The Winter Motb (Chimatobia brumata). 



237. THE WINTER MOTH. The antennae 

 in both sexes are nearly simple ; the fore 

 wings of the male are rounded, and of a 

 grayish-brown colour, tinged with ochreous, 

 and having several narrow transverse waved 

 bars, which in some specimens are associ- 

 ated in three pairs ; the hind wings are 

 pale, with scarcely any markings ; the wings 

 of the female are very short, are quite 

 unadapted for flight ; her locomotive power 

 is restricted to running about on fences and 

 trunks of trees, much in the manner of a 

 spider. 



This is one of our most injurious insects, 

 and therefore requires a somewhat more 

 elaborate and lengthened history than we 

 can afford to give to others of less economi- 

 cal importance. The apterous female lays 

 EGGS in the crevices of the bark of various 

 trees and shrubs during November and 

 December ; when laid the eggs are greenish- 

 white, but they become orange, and subse- 

 quently brown, before hatching, which takes 

 place about the beginning of April. 

 The CATERPILLARS are extremely small at 

 first, and suspend themselves by threads, 

 and are blown about in all directions by the 

 cold winds of spring ; many must certainly 

 perish, but multitudes escape, and find con- 

 genial homes ; they commence their de- 

 structive career by eating into the young 

 unexpanded buds : at this time of the year 

 the bullfinches, sparrows, and titmice render 

 the most important services to the gardener, 

 by their activity in devouring the buds, and 

 thus destroying this little garden-pest. 

 When the leaves have begun to expand, 

 each caterpillar draws two or three together, 

 and unites them by a silken web, coming 

 partially out to feed, and retiring again 

 within its domicile when satisfied. When 

 full-fed it rests with its head on one side, 



and curled round so as to touch the middle 

 of its body. The head is scarcely so wide 

 as the body, and scarcely notched on the 

 crown ; the body is rather obese, decreasing 

 in size towards each extremity. Head pale 

 green, semi-transparent, the cheeks often 

 blotched with smoky -brown on each side, 

 just in the region of the ocelli. The body 

 is glaucous-green, with a narrow median 

 blackish stripe on the back, and three 

 narrow white stripes, at equal intervals, on 

 each side ; the third or lowest on each side 

 includes the spiracles. The legs and clas- 

 pers are transparent green. It is a variable 

 larva, the colour sometimes green, some- 

 times smoky-brown, approaching to black- 

 ish ; the stripes in different individuals 

 differ greatly in distinctness ; the medio- 

 dorsal stripe is apparently in great measure 

 due to the food in the alimentary canal 

 being visible through a very transparent 

 skin ; it is sometimes bordered on each side 

 by an obscure white stripe, thus making 

 eight stripes in ail. It is almost useless to 

 specify any tree as the food-plant of this 

 ubiquitous larva ; I have beaten it by thou- 

 sands from the hornbeam in Epping Forest, 

 and I am unable to mention a tree the 

 leaves of which it does n9t devour; it is 

 especially destructive to plantations of fil- 

 berts, to plums and bullace, quinces, med- 

 lars, and in a less degree to apples and 

 pears. 



The MOTH appears everywhere in Octo- 

 ber, November, and December; it is full-fed 

 in May, and then descends to the earth, 

 and changes to a CHRYSALIS near the sur- 

 face. (The scientific name is Chimatobia 

 brumata.) 



Obs. It may be assumed thai so injurious 

 an insect has excited considerable interest, 

 and that many remedies have been pre- 

 pared, and experiments tried, to arrest its 

 ravages. I have extracted a detailed 

 account of these, published a few weeks 

 back in the Field newspaper, and having 

 more especial reference to the cider and 

 perry orchards of Herefordshire and Wor- 

 cestershire. 



When the destruction of these insects on 

 a large scale is to be effected, the operation 

 should be divided into three campaigns, 



