TIGER MOTHS. 27 



CHAPTER CVIII. 







DARK-STRIPED TIGER MOTH. 

 (Diacrisia canescens, Le Gr.) 

 LIGHT-STRIPED TIGER MOTH. 

 (Artices glatignyi, Butler.) 

 Order : Lepidoptera. Family : Arctiidce. 



These are two moths which, in the larval state, are very 

 destructive to cereals and herbage of many kinds. Figs. 

 IV. and V. on the plate are those of the Light-striped 

 Tiger Moth (A. glatignyi), the larva of which feeds on the 

 Native Hop (Goodenia ovata). This species is not so 

 plentiful around Melbourne as is the other one shown on 

 Fig. VI., but the larvae sometimes occur in large numbers, 

 and when hungry will tackle almost anything of a succulent 

 nature. The male, as shown, is smaller than the female, 

 and is somewhat lighter in colour. Both sexes remind one 

 somewhat of the well-known Tiger Moth of English hedge- 

 rows. The larvae or caterpillars of these moths are hairy, 

 and frequently may be seen in large numbers. As a rule, 

 birds do not seem to be partial to them. 



The Diacrisia canescens, or Dark-striped Tiger Moth, is 

 a very common and destructive insect. The larvae do 

 much damage to garden plants of all kinds, and especially 

 to cereal crops. The eggs are deposited among weeds on 

 neglected headlands, and when hatched the young feed 

 ravenously. The cocoons are deposited near the base of 

 the tussocks, and are partly covered with grass, as our 

 plate shows. This species is much the more plentiful of 

 the two, and does damage that other insects are credited 

 with. The larvae feed mostly by night, and hide by day. 



