ENTOMOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 



173 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE GRAPEVINE— No. 7. 



The American Proeris. 



{Procrix \^Acoloitli.us] Americana .Y"^' 

 [From the Second Missouri Entomological Report. ] 



During tlie months of July and August, tlie 

 leaves of the Grape-vine may often be found 

 denuded of their softer parts, with notliiiig but 



[Fig. 107.] 



^^^ A 



tlie veins, and sometimes only a few of the larger 

 ribs left skeleton-like, to tell of the mischief that 

 has been done. Very frequently, only portions 

 of the leaf will be thus denuded, and in that 

 event, if we examine such a leaf closely, we 

 shall find the authors of the mischief drawn up 

 ill line upon the yet leafy tissue, with their heads 

 all toward the margin, cutting away with their 

 little jaws and retreating as they feed. 



[Pig. 108.] 



Coloi 



These little soldier-like flies are formed by 

 worms in black and yellow uniforms which 

 produce a moth popularly known as the Amer- 

 ican Proeris. The eggs from which they hatch, 

 are laid in small clusters on the underside of 

 the leaves, and while Ihe worms are small, they 



•This i.s the Aylappe americaiu 

 cana ol BoisdiiviU and Harris, 

 Walker. 



leave untouched the most delicate veins of the 

 leaf, which then presents a fine net-work ap- 

 pearance, as shown at the right of Figure 108 ; 

 but when they become older and stronger they 

 devour all but the larger ribs, as at the left of 

 the figure. 



When full grown* these worms disperse over 

 the vines or forsake them entirely, and each 

 spins for itself a small, tough, whitish, flattened 

 cocoon (Fig. 107, c), within which, in about 

 three days, it changes to a chrysalis (Fig. 107, 

 6), 0.30 inch long, broad, flattened and of a light 

 shiny yellowish-brown color. In about ten days 

 afterwards the moths (Fig. 107, d and e) begin 

 to issue. This little moth is the American rep- 

 resentative of the European Proeris ritis; it is 

 wholly of a black color, except the collar, which 

 is of. a deep orange, and the body ends in a 

 broad fan-like, notched tuft, especially in the 

 male. The wings are of a delicate texture, 

 reminding one of crape, and when the insect is 

 at rest they generally form a perfect cross with 

 the body, the hind wings being completely hid- 

 den by the front ones, which are stretched out 

 straight at right angles, as in the genus Ptero- 

 lihorvs, to which belongs the Grape-vine Plume. 

 We have, however, on one or two occasions 

 found th3 American Proeris resting in the man- 

 ner shown at Figure 107, d. 



This is the only North American Grape-vine 

 feeding caterpillar which has a gregarious habit, 

 and as gregarious insects are always more easily 

 subdued than those of a solitary nature, the 

 American Proeris need never become very de- 

 structive. Its natural food is undoubtedly the 

 wild grape-vines of our forests, and the Virginia 

 Creeper, and Mr. J. M. Jordou, of St. Louis, 

 has noticed that while it very commonly attacks 

 the foliage of the Concord, yet it never touches 

 the Clinton and Taj'lor in his vineyard— a taste 

 which is remarkable and not easily accounted 

 for, since the foliage of the latter kinds is more 

 tender and generally more subject to insect 

 depredations than that of the former. 



There are two broods of this insect each year 

 with us, some of the moths from the second 

 brood of worms issuing in the fall, but the 

 greater part not leaving their cocoons till the 



hairs, with a slight grayish-brown tint on tin 

 with the lifth and seventh segments nahr tlian t 

 lely visible. 



having the black spots scarcely i 



