52 INSECT PESTS 



The moth measures about 1-| inches across the fore- 

 wings, which are variable in both colour and markings, 

 the prevaiHng scheme being greyish-brown, with several 

 darker, ear-like spots and an indistinct dark border. The 

 hind-wings are pearl-white in the male and pearl with a 

 clouded border in the case of the other sex. There is a 

 further distinction in the antennae, those of the male 

 being strongly ciHated or feathered, the female's being 

 wiry and plain. In both sexes the veins of the hind- 

 wings are picked out in black. (See Plate 11.) 



Eggs are laid in June on a seedUng, close to the ground. 

 Turnips, Carrots, Mangolds, Radishes and Cabbages are 

 all attacked. The larva is not exactly a pleasant-looking 

 affair, pale smoke-colour shghtly tinged with pink and 

 with variable dark stripes. It is nearly two inches long 

 when full-fed. The stem-gnawing is a youthful accom- 

 phshment. Later on it seeks out the turnips and bores 

 right into the interior. A specimen of the class of work 

 done is shown in the sketch. The caterpillars usually 

 pass the winter either inside the turnips themselves, in 

 which case they are able to feed during mild weather, 

 or else beneath the soil in a torpid state. A few strays 

 may pupate in the autumn, and hatch out as moths in 

 the course of a few days.. The females of this autumn 

 brood, however, are usually barren, a case almost com- 

 parable to the surplus of drones in a bee-hive. The bulk 

 of the larvae change, to a glossy brown pupa in the month 

 of May, the moth coming out in June for the summer 

 brood. 



Now what are we to do in a case like this ? Let us 

 seek the true cause first of all, and at the expense of 

 being tedious we must again, I think, admit that here 

 is another instance of interference with Nature's laws. 

 Each creature has its natural food provided for it. The 

 Turnip Moth subsists on roots. Man grows roots on a grand 

 scale. Nature grows Turnip Moths to a similar extent. 

 Nature evokes a greater number of rooks, partridges and 



