45 

 TREATMENT. 



The only thing that need be done is to pick off the 

 groups of young larvae before they disperse. If the large 

 ones are found they can easily be jarred off on to the 

 ground and killed there, or arsenical spraying may be 

 resorted to if the attack is on a large scale. 



The Dagger Moth (Acronycta psi.) 

 The caterpillar of the Dagger Moth is one of the 

 many omnivorous kinds, which only too frequently feed 

 upon the leaves of Roses in the late summer and early 

 autumn. They usually occur as isolated specimens on 

 the bushes, but owing to their ravenous nature cause 

 much unsightliness and damage. The caterpillar is very 

 marked ; it is greyish-black with a broad pale yellow 

 line along the back and a large blunt black hump on the 

 fifth segment and a short one on the twelfth. It is 

 found from August to October, and when mature reaches 

 i inches long (Plate VII., Fig. 9). It feeds upon the 

 Rose leaves, eating down to the mid rib and when 

 mature pupates in a cocoon amongst any protection on 

 the ground (Plate VII., Fig. 10). The moth appears 

 in June, July and August and is found flying at night 

 in gardens and lanes. The front wings are grey with 

 dark marks as shown in the figure (Plate VII., Fig. 12). 

 Length of wing expanse i|- inch. The closely allied 

 DARK DAGGER (A.tridens) is also reported on Roses ; the 

 adult is very similar but smaller. Its caterpillar is 

 orange yellow above with a small hump on the 5th 

 segment and a whitish black-crowned one on the i2th. 

 They may be found every year on Roses in September. 

 As both species usually only occur singly, the simple 

 method of hand-picking alone is necessary. 



