350 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



notched, and like most olher Sphinges, they have a 

 long and stiH'epine on the hinder exiremiiy of the 

 body. They enter the earth to become clirysalids 

 and pass the winter, and come Ibrih in the winijed 

 Slate in the monih ol June lollowing, at which 

 time the moths may ol'ien be (ourid on the Irunks 

 oC trees, or on fences in ilie viciniiy. In ihis 

 state iheir wings expnnd nearly five inches, are o!' 

 a liiiht brown culor, variegated wiih diirk brown 

 and w hilt-, and ihe hinder pari ol ihe body is mark- 

 ed wiih five longiiiidinal liaik brown lims. A 

 young Irieiul oC mine, in Bosion, captured on the 

 truidfs o\' the trees a larire naniher ol these moths 

 during a morning's walk in ihe mall, the past sum- 

 mer, although ohii<i;ed to be on '.he alert to escape 

 (rom the guardians ol Ihe common, whose duty it 

 was to prevent the grass from being trodden down. 

 Nearly all of these specimens were females, ready 

 to deposite their eg>zs, with which their large bo- 

 dies were completely filled. On being taken, they 

 made scarcely any efforis to escape, and were 

 ealely carried away. It would not be difficult, 

 by such moans, very considerably to reduce the 

 jiumberol'these destructive insects ; in addition to 

 which it might be expedient, during the proper 

 season, for our city authorities to employ persons 

 to gather and kill every morning the caterpillars 

 which may be found in those public walks where 

 they abound. 



Grape-vine caterpillars. — From the genus 

 Sphinx I have separated another group, to which 

 I have given the name of Philavipelus,* from the 

 ciicumstance that the larvas or caterpillars live 

 upon the grape-vine. When young they have a 

 long and slender tail recurved over the back like 

 that ol" a dog ; but this, after one or two changes 

 of the skin, disappears, and noihing remains of it 

 but a smooth, eye-like, raised spot on the top of 

 the last segnaenl of the body. Some of these 

 caterpillars are pale green and others are brown, 

 and the sides of their boJy are ornamented by six 

 cream-colored spots, of a broad oval shape, in 

 the species which produces the Satellitia of 

 Linnas'is, narrow oval and scalloped, in that 

 which is iransfLirmed to the sjjecies called jJchemon 

 by Drury. They have the power of withdraw- 

 ing the head and the first three segnienis of the 

 body within the fourth segment, which gives 

 them a short and blunt appearance when at rest. 

 As they attain to the length of three inches or 

 more, and are (hick in proportion, they consume 

 great quantities of leaves ; and the long leafless 

 branches ol the vine too often afford evidence ol 

 (heir voracity. They also devour the leaves of the 

 common creeper (^jfmpelopsis quinqucfolia) whiuh 

 with those of our indigenous vines, were their ordy 

 food till the introduction and increased cultivation 

 of foreign vines afforded them an additional sup- 

 ply. They come to their prowth during the month 

 ol August, enter the eanh to transform, and ap- 

 pear in the winged or mf>ih stale the following 

 eummer in June and July. The Satellitia 

 Hawk-moth expands from lour to five inches, is of 

 a light olive color, variegated with patches ofdark- 

 er olive. The j^chcmon expands from three to 

 four inches, is of a reddish aeh-color, with two 

 triangular patches of deep brown on the thorax, 

 and two square ones on each lore wing ; the hind 



The literal signification of this word is, / love the 

 vine. 



wings are pink, with a deeper red spot near the 

 middle, and a broad ash-colored border behind. 



The grape-vine sufliers still more severely from 

 the ravages ofanotlier kind of Spfiinx caierpillara, 

 smaller in size than the preceding, and like ihem 

 solitary in their htibiis, but more numerous, and, 

 not cuiiient with eating ihe leaves alune, in their 

 progress lioin leaf to leal down the siem, they 

 sl(){) at every cluster of fruit, and, either from biu- 

 pidiiy or disa|)poin'ment. nip oH the sla ks of the 

 iiall-growu grapes, and allow ihem to lall to the 

 goutid untrtsied. I have gathered under a single 

 vine above a quart ol unri|)e grapes thus detached 

 during one night by iliese caterpillars. They are 

 naked itnd flrishy like those of the jichemoa, and 

 Satellitia, and are generally of a pale green color, 

 (someiimes, however, brown,) wiih a row of 

 orange colored spots on the top of the back, six or 

 seven oblique darker green or brown lines on each 

 side, and a short spine or horn on the hinder extre- 

 Qiiiy. The head is very small, and, with the lore 

 pan ol'lhe body, is somewhat retractile, but not so 

 completely as m the two preceding species. The 

 fourth and fifih segments being very large and 

 swollen, while the three anterior segments taper 

 abruptly to the head, the fore part ol the body pre- 

 sents a resemblance to ihe head and snout of a 

 hog. This suggested ihegenerical name ol Chccro- 

 campa, or hog caterpillar, which has been applied 

 to some of these insects. The species under con- 

 sideration is Ibund on the vine and the creeper in 

 July and August ; when lull grown it descends 

 to the ground, conceals iiself under fallen leaves, 

 which 11 draws together by a lew threads so as to 

 Ibrm a kind of cocoon, or covers ilselfwith grains 

 of earth and rubbish in the same way, and under 

 this imperfect cover it changes to a pupa or chrys- 

 alis, and finally appears in the winged state in the 

 month of July of the following year. Tlie moth, 

 to which Sir James Edward Smith gave the name 

 of Pampinatrix, from its living un the shoots of 

 the vine, expands from two and a halt" to three 

 inches, is of an olive gray color, except the hii:d 

 wings, which are rust-colored, and the lore \v'ings 

 and tflioulder-covers are traversed with olive-green 

 bands. 



Uessiaji fly. — The far-famed Hessian fly, and 

 the wheat Hy of Europe, and of this country, are 

 small gnats or midges, and belong to the lamily 

 called Cecidomyiadoi, or gall gnats. The insects 

 of ih's lamily are very numerous, and most of 

 them, in the maggot slate, live in galls or unna- 

 tural enlargements of ihe stems, leaves and buds 

 of plants, caused by the punciures of ihe winged 

 insects in laying their eggs. The Hessian Hy, 

 wheal fly, and some oiliers difler Irom the majority 

 in not producing such alterations in plants. The 

 proboscis of these insects is very short, and does 

 not contain the piercing bristles lound in the long 

 proboscis of the biting gnais and mosquitoes, 

 'i'heir anienriee are lonir, composed of many little, 

 bead like joinis, which are larger in the males 

 than in the other sex ; and each joint is surround- 

 ed with short hairs. 



Their eyes are kidney-shaped. Their legs are 

 rather long and very slender. Their wings have 

 on'y two, three, or lour veins in them, and are 

 fringed with little hairs around the edges ; when 

 not in use, they are generally carried flat on the 

 back. The hind body of the females often ends 

 with a retractile, conical lube, wherewith they de- 



