COMMON DAKALA MOTH. 123 



CHAPTER CXXIX. 



COMMON DARALA MOTH. 



(Darala ocellata, Walker.) 



Order : Lepidoptera. Family : Liparidce. 



This is a very common and most destructive pest. The 

 various figures on the plate show the life history, together 

 with some Hymenopterous parasites, which we have reared 

 both from the cocoons and the caterpillars. In late spring, 

 the caterpillars may be seen in thousands, and they appear 

 to travel in the one direction, eating up such plants as are 

 fancied by them. They are especially destructive to 

 grasses on pasture land, as they eat the grass as well as 

 defile the pastures when they are numerous. 



Mr. Anderson remarks : " There is a great difference 

 in the life history of the two (alluding to the Striped Darala, 

 D. denticulate), for, whereas the Striped Daralatakes a 

 whole year to complete its metamorphosis, the Common 

 Darala gets through two generations in the same space of 

 time ; the first are found feeding from June to September, 

 the moths appearing in November. Caterpillars from these 

 may be found during December and January, and the 

 resulting moths are on the wing in March and April." 



The habits of the two species are similar, but the common 

 Darala does not construct such an interesting cocoon as 

 its congener. These moths are brown, marked with 

 different shades of the same colour, and have two distinct 

 black spots in the centre of the forewing. The male has 

 the antennae plumed (Fig. III.), while in the female they 

 are simple (Fig. II.). 



