30 



JOTJENAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEK. 



[ Jnly IS, 1871. 



before it oonstrnets a mine. The mines, or tnnuels, are exten- 

 sive and cross each other in various directions, very slender 

 at first, while those tenanted by the fnll-growu caterpillar will 

 almost admit a finger. We find on examination that tracks of 



Coasns ligniperda. 

 different sizes are to be found in various parts of the tree, and 

 that the caterpillar does not, as was thought, bore towards the 

 centreas it becomes large. In cutting down trees the Goat 

 caterpillar, as it reposes without eating during the winter, has 

 been discovered in a habitation specially prepared, and this 

 has been thought its usual practice. Some entomologists, 

 however, report having discovered it then in a partially active 

 condition. The chrysalis is placed very ingeniously in such a 

 position that when the moth makes its exit there is only a 



Wood-Leopard Moth— Zeuzera ^sculi. 



thin film of wood between it and the outer world, which film 

 is easily pushed aside ; the tail of the pupa-case remaining 

 imbedded serves as a sort of lever to assist the moth to escape. 

 The most effectual way of dealing with this species is by the 

 extirpation of the moth. It is one of those sometimes at- 

 tracted to any sweet compound spread upon trees, and it may 

 also be caught just after emergence, by enclosing in gauze bags 

 trees which have been attacked. We may reckon that each 

 female moth killed is equivalent to the destruction of several 

 hundred young caterpillars. A full and interesting account of 

 the economy of the Goat caterpillar has been given by Mr. 

 Newman. 



A species which, compared with the preceding, is but a pigmy 

 —namely, the Bed-tipped Clearwiag" (Sesia formicaformis), 

 is found plentifully in the twigs of the Osiers acd shrubby 



Wood-Leopard Moth— Caterpillar. 



Wood-Leopard Moth- 

 of Chrysalis. 



-Skur 



Willows, rarely or never touching trees. This caterpillar,, 

 which is white and fleehy, proceeds very much in the manner 

 of the Currant Clearwing already described. The moth flies 

 about flowers in the sunshine, or basks on the Willow leaves. 

 Another Sesia, known as the Osier Clearwing (bembeciformis), 

 feeds similarly, and is larger, yet not sufficiently abundant to- 

 do much injury. It is partial to the stumps of Salix eaprea, 

 in which collectors seek for it as an entomological prize, obtain- 

 ing it, if possible, when nearly full-grown. Some think that 

 while very young this caterpillar feeds on the bark of the root. 

 A long list of moth caterpillars might be given, all of which 

 are frequenters of the Willow, and disfigure the foliage. Some 

 years ago I noticed multitudes of the hairy caterpillars of the 

 Satin Moth (Liparis salicis) on some trees in Battersea Park - 

 the species is now scarce near London. In various places 

 along the Thames and Lea I have found the brown caterpillars 

 of the appropriately-named moth, the Dismal (Orthosia upsilon). 

 They sally forth at night in some seasons by hundreds, feeding- 

 in the spring. Throughout the day they conceal themselves 

 under loose bark. That very peculiar caterpillar, called the 

 Fuss, is also a Willow-feeder, but not to an extent to be at 

 all injurious. Various small moths belonging to the Tortrix 

 family also help to disfigure considerably both Willows and 

 Osiers, and one of these, which I have seen in abundance near 

 London, is that of Earis chlorana. It binds the leaves together 

 very ingeniously while in the caterpillar state, living in the 

 centre of the bundle, and when of full size spins a snug cocoon 

 of a boat shape. The moth flatters about the Willows in the 

 daytime. 



We find in the works of the old herbalists that a curious 

 account is given of what was called the "Rose Willow," and' 

 to which various virtues were attributed. Mr. Bind exhibited 

 at the Entomological Society, in 1865, a number of these, 

 which had been taken from lofty Willow trees. The grub, for 

 which they form an abode, produces a fiy, Cecidomyia rosaria. 

 Another species, C. marginemtorquens, does considerable harm 

 in some districts, forming red and yellow rolls. Of another 

 of these midges or gall-fiies (G. salicis) Mr. Miiller gives an in- 

 teresting account. This seems to be most partial to the White- 

 Willow (Salix alba) when growing in hedgerows. He observes 

 that " it makes havoc through the summer in the tips of the 

 leading shoots. These attacks cause the young terminal leaflets 

 to wither, and to form a small bird-shaped nidus, within which 

 the larvte, to the number of from three to eight, pass their 

 metamorphosis. When the perfect insects have left the shoots 



