LEAF-ROLLERS.—THE OAK MOTH. 17: 



cocoon of the large Oak Egger Moth, and if there be any such 

 perforations, they are so minute as to escape notice. 



We now pass to the enormous variety of caterpillars whicti 

 are popularly called Leaf-rollers, because they make their homes 

 in leaves which they curl up in various methods. 



Some use a single leaf, and others employ two or more in the 

 construction of their nests. Even the single-leaf insects dis- 

 play a wonderful variety in their modes of performing aii 

 apparently simple task. Some bend the leaf longitudinally, and 

 merely fasten the two edges together, while others bend it trans- 

 versely, fixing the point to the middle nervure. Some roll it 

 longitudinally, so as to make a hollow cylinder corresponding 

 with the entire length of the leaf, while others roll it transversely 

 so that the cylinder is only as long as the leaf is wide, and a 

 few species cut a slit in the leaf and roll up only a small portion 

 of it. 



The leaf-roller caterpillars belong to numerous species, and 

 are plentiful enough, too plentiful indeed to please the gardener, 

 who finds the leaves of his favourite trees curled up and per- 

 manently disfigured by these little marauders. All of them are 

 of small size, and some so minute that the mere fact of their 

 ability to roll up a leaf is something wonderful. 



One of the most common among the Leaf-rollers is the pretty 

 Oak Moth {Tortrix viridana). It is a little creature with four 

 rather wide delicate wings, the upper pair of a soft leaf green, 

 and the under pair of a greyish hue. In some seasons, the 

 moths, or rather their larvae, are so plentiful that great damage 

 is done to the oak forests, tree after tree being so covered with 

 them that scarcely a leaf escapes destruction, and the growth 

 of the tree is consequently checked. 



Like all Leaf-rollers, they feed on the green substance, or 

 parenchyma of the leaf, and being ensconced within their tubular 

 home can eat without fear of molestation. They are not very 

 much afraid even of the small birds, for as soon as a bill is 



