4 o 



The Vapourer Moth (Orygia antiqud). 

 The attack of the beautiful caterpillars of this moth 

 on Roses is well known, not only in the country but also 

 in towns, for the male Vapourer Moth is frequently found 

 in numbers flying about even in the crowded thorough- 

 fares of London and other large cities. 



Its distribution is very wide over England and 

 Wales, and it is common in Ireland, especially in the 

 south. 



The male moth is winged, of various shades of rich 

 chestnut brown with darker markings on the fore wings 

 and a white moon-shaped mark near the hinder angle ; 

 wing expanse over an inch. The female is quite wing- 

 less, or at least very small traces of wings are present ; 

 she is grey in colour and very plump and reaches about 

 half-an-inch in length (Plate VI., Figs. 3 & 4). 



LIFE HISTORY AND HABITS. 



The moths appear mainly in August and September, 

 but may continue into October, the males flying in bright 

 sunshine. The females merely crawl from the inside of 

 their cocoons to the outside, where they eventually deposit 

 eggs, often completely covering the silken case. The 

 eggs do not all hatch at once, but come out a few at a 

 time over a period of some weeks. 



The caterpillars are variable in size when mature, 

 ranging from i-| to 2 inches in length. The colour is 

 dark grey, spotted with small red tubercles, four large 

 upstanding tufts of yellow or brownish hairs on the back, 

 and five long tufts of pin-headed hairs of dark colour, 

 two pointing forwards, two lateral and one long one over 

 the tail end (Plate VI., Fig. 5). They mature from 



