184 TORTRIX. CLOTHES'-MOTHS ; PLUMED MOTHS. 



being so great, that when the branches of that tree are sharply- 

 beaten, a complete shower of these moths is dislodged. And 

 another commits great havoc in our gardens, by eating the young 

 leaves and buds of the roses ; the caterpillar feeding within the 

 bud, from which, when disturbed, it lets itself down by a thread. 

 One of the most destructive insects of this family is the Tortrix 

 vitis (the Pyrale of French Entomologists) ; whose larvae com- 

 mit extensive ravages in the Vineyards of some parts of France, 

 where they occasionally appear in very large numbers, devouring 

 and tying together the leaves, and preventing the development 

 of the grapes, by surrounding them with the silken threads of 

 which they make their cocoons (Fig. 511). 



778. The family TINEID^E contains those little Moths, com- 

 monly termed Clothes' -Moths, whose larvae are so injurious to 

 woollen stuffs of every kind, as well as to furs, skins, feathers, 

 and other objects of natural history, upon which their voracity 

 is exercised. They use the same materials also for the construc- 

 tion of their moveable cases or sheaths ; which they enlarge with 

 the increasing size of their bodies, both by adding to their 

 extremities, and by slitting them along and inserting a new 

 piece, so as to increase their diameter. In these tubes they 

 undergo their metamorphoses, after closing the orifice with 

 silk. The larvae of the genus Galleria infest Bee-hives, feeding 

 upon honey, forming galleries in the honeycomb, and enveloping 

 the bees in their silken webs, sometimes to such an extent as to 

 destroy the community. The larvae of most of these moths, 

 however, feed upon fresh vegetable matters, usually attacking 

 the leaves, from which some of the species manufacture small 

 portable cases, whilst others feed upon the pulp between the 

 cuticles of the leaves, leaving the surface uninjured. These form 

 curious little galleries in the substance of the leaves, from which 

 they are denominated Leaf-miners. 



779. The FISSIPENN.E, or Plumed Moths (Fig. 404), consti- 

 tute a small group, distinguished from all other Lepidoptera by 

 the singular division of the wing into branches or rays, of which 

 each pair has from two to six ; these are most beautifully 

 fringed at their edges, and much resemble the feathers of Birds. 



