t 691 ] 



green veget able matter. The distinction between butterflies 

 and moths is not scientific. By moths is understood night- 

 butterflies, and no structural distinction can be established. 

 The classification of butterflies into true butterflies, or 

 papilio, hawkmoths, or sphina, and moths or phalcena, is 

 more generally accepted. 



1.202. True butterflies have their antennae terminating 

 in a club, and they generally fly about in day time. Of these 

 the following may be mentioned as of agricultural interest : 

 (i) Virachola isocrates, a graceful purplish butterfly, the 

 larvae of which bore into the fruits of guava, pomegranate, 

 loquat &c. (2) Mancipium nepalensis, or M. rapae (Fig. 67 a\ 

 a white butterfly, the larvae of which have been known to 

 attack gram, linseed, and sugar-cane. This may be looked 

 upon as an Indian form of the destructive English butterfly, 

 Pieris, or Mancipium brassicae. (3) Papilio erithonius, a 

 large swallow-tailed butterfly the caterpillars of which defo- 

 liate orange and lemon trees, in different parts of India. 



1.203. The hawk-moths are distinguished by their stout 

 bodies, by their abdomens extending beyond the hind wings 

 and by their narrow wings. None of them are of much 

 agricultural interest, though the big larvae, distinguished by a 

 horn near the tail, consume a great quantity of leaves. 



1.204. Most of the lepidoptera of agricultural interest 

 belong to the third group, z/i>., moths. The following may 

 be mentioned as of special interest : (i) The Spilosoma (sudn 

 pokd or bhud) defoliate jute, sunn-hemp, sesamum, castor-oil 

 and other crops. Other hair-covered caterpillars like the 

 Spilosoma have been known to defoliate mango trees, tea, 

 coffee, paddy, rabi crops generally and rape in particular. The 

 Alope ricini (Fig. 67$) may be mentioned as a common Indian 

 defoliating caterpillar. (2) The Noctues, which are thick- 

 bodied moths with thread-like antennae, are very destructive 

 in the larval stage. The larvae are smooth caterpillars with 

 four pairs of pro-legs and one pair of anal claspers, and they 



