THE CORN GORTYXA. 439 



the first and of the last rin^s black, and with a double row, 



o * * 



across each of the other rings, of small, smooth, slightly 

 elevated, shining black dots. With a magnifying-glass a few 

 short hairs can be seen on its body, arising singly from the 

 black dots. This mischievous caterpillar is not confined to 

 Indian corn ; it attacks also the stems of the Dahlia, as I am 

 informed both by Mr. Leonard and by the Rev. J. L. Rus- 

 sell, both of whom have observed its ravages in the stems of 

 this favorite flower. It has also been found in the pith of the 

 elder, and the same species of moth was produced from it, 

 early in August, as from the spindle-worm of corn. The 

 chrysalis, which is lodged in the burrow formed by the cater- 

 pillar, is slender, but not quite so long in proportion to its 

 thickness as are those of most of the Xonagrians. It is 

 shining mahogany-brown, with the anterior edges of four of 

 the rings of the back roughened with little points, and four 

 short spines or hooks, turned upwards, on the hinder extrem- 

 ity of the body. The moth produced from this insect differs 

 from the other Nonagrians somewhat in form, its fore wings 

 being shorter and more rounded at the tip. It may be called 

 G-ortyna * Zece (Plate VII. Fig. 9), the corn Gortyna ; Zea 

 being the botanical name of Indian corn. The fore wings 

 are rust-red ; they are mottled with gray, almost in bands, 

 uniting with the ordinary spots, which are also gray and 

 indistinct ; there is an irregular tawny spot near the tip, and 

 on the veins there are a few black dots. The hind wings 



o 



are yellowish gray, with a central dusky spot, behind which 

 are two faint, dusky bands. The head and thorax are rust- 

 red, with an elevated tawny tuft on each. The abdomen is 

 pale brown, with a row of tawny tufts on the back. The 

 wings expand nearly one inch and a half. 



In order to check the ravages of these insects they must 

 be destroyed while in the caterpillar state. As soon as our 

 cornfields begin to show, by the withering of the leaves, the 



* Gortyna, in ancieut geography, was the name of a city in Crete, so called 

 from its fc under. 



