GARDEN PESTS 



61 



the customary changes that apply to all lepidoptera and 

 moults its skin periodically. (See Plate 14b.) 



The Cabbage Moth has its ichneumon parasite in 

 P. Fumata, a fly not more than ^ inch across the vringa 

 with black body and red legs. 





Plate 14b. 

 Cabbage Moth and Snowy Fly, etc. 



The pupa of this moth is glossy brown, about | inch 

 long, and it is found in the soil during the autumn and 

 winter. If the ground be opened they may often be 

 exposed in hundreds, and every domestic bird, from a 

 bantam to a peacock, will gobble them up with avidity. 

 If a field is badly infested, it should afterwards be gas- 

 Mmed in winter, but ordinarily the constant opening up 

 of the soil should be sufficient. As regards the action of 

 frost, this is only fatal to insects that have first become 

 sodden with water. No amount of dry frost will kill pup89 

 or hibernating insects. This is a little detail that is not 

 often reaUzed, so that the working of the soil must be 

 done several times at favourable opportunities. 



The Turnip Gall Weevil (C. pleurostigma) also attacks 

 cabbage plants and causes what is known as false club. 

 This weevil belongs to the genus Rhynchopora and is only 

 i inch in length. The female pierces the outer sldn of the 



