CHE WOLF MOTH, 115 



covering of unbroken wood, as thin as writing-paper. Previous, 

 therefore, to the chrysaUs making its way through this feeble 

 barrier, it could not have been suspected that an insect was 

 lodged under the smooth wood. We observed more than one 

 of these insects in the act of breaking through this covering, 

 within which there is besides a round moveable lid, of a sort 

 of brown wax.' 



The last-mentioned peculiarity is worthy of special notice, 

 because it is not a general feature in the history of the Clear- 

 wings. Just when they are about to change into the pupal 

 form, they usually nibble a hole through the exterior of the 

 branch, and then make a partial cocoon out of the debris^ 

 taking care to place tliemselves so that the head is towards the 

 orifice. The abdominal segments of the chrysalis are furnished 

 with points directed backwards, so that by alternately ex- 

 tending and contracting! the abdomen, the creature is pushed 

 onwards. When it is going to break out of its chrysalis case it 

 uses these little points, and forces itself partially through the 

 hole, thus allowing the perfect moth to issue at once into the 

 world. 



With two more species of lepidopteran burrowers, we must 

 dose our list, one of them boring into wood and the other into 

 wax. 



The first of these insects. Tinea gi-anella^ is sometimes called 

 the Wolf Moth. It is a very small insect, and is closely 

 allied to the common clothes moth, so deservedly hated by fur- 

 dealers, careful housewives, and keepers of museums. The 

 larva of this insect feeds upon the corn, covering it at the same 

 time with a tissue of silken threads. The most curious portion 

 of the life of this insect is, that after the larva has finished 

 eating the corn, it proceeds to the sides of the granary, and 

 there burrows into the wood, making its holes so closely to- 

 gether that, if the timber had been taken out of the sea, the 

 Gribble would have had the credit of the tunnels. Nothing 

 seems to stop this little creature, and it bores through deal 

 planks with perfect ease, making its way even through the 

 knots without being checked either by the hardness of the 



