October 8, 1872. ] 



JOUKNAL OF HOBTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER. 



265 



plants in gardens. It occurs occasionally upon the hedgerows 

 in the south of London, as I have observed, yet seems to have 

 a preference for plants under cultivation. The moth is very 

 handsome when seen ere it has taken its flight after emer- 

 gence from the purpa, having then a glossy appearance which 

 excursions on the wing ere long efface. The fore wings are a very 

 deep brown, in some individuals looking almost black, while 

 others again show more of a chestnut hue. The name " Dot" 

 has been given to it from the conspicuous character of what is 

 known as the reniform spot ; this is of a brilliant white, with 

 a slight cloud at its centre. The hind wings are much paler, 

 and the thorax is highly crested. These moths are out in June, 

 July, and even in August, when the caterpillars which have 

 emerged from the first batches of eggs are to be found also. 



Like the moth, the caterpillar is variable in its colour, and 

 4he duller-tinted individuals are said usually to produce males, 

 while the brighter specimens develope into females, this being, 

 of course, quite as it should be ! In some things the Dot 

 •caterpillar reminds us of those belonging to the Sphinx group ; 

 the body is smooth and tapers towards the head, which is 

 small and shining, and on the twelfth segment there is a con- 

 spicuous hump. Behind the head is a curious dark patch, 

 notable for its regular shape, as it is squared-off by a white 

 line on each side, and very exactly divided into two parts by 

 a line of the same colour. Along the back runs a series of 

 stripes, or " V-shaped markings," which meet on the sides 

 another set of markings which rise from the claspers, but are 

 bent in an opposite direction. The ground colour, as already 

 observed, is various shades of green and brown. When the 

 caterpillar of M. Persicarire is at rest, it will sit on a twig in a 

 peculiar attitude, with tie head and legs thrown up, and, if 

 disturbed when feeding, its first movement is generally to place 

 itself in that position ; but if the alarm continues, then it 

 rapidly drops, and, following the advice given by boys to each 

 other when engaged at the game of leap-frog, it " tucks-in its 

 head," and falls to the ground rolled in a ring, sometimes still 

 keeping-up its attachment to the plant on which it was feed- 

 ing by means of a silken thread, which has considerable 

 strength and elasticity. The adult caterpillar enters the earth 

 and reposes there in the pupa state through the winter. 



Mr. Lockyer, who has had the species particularly under his 

 ■observation in the present and past year, has reported some 

 interesting facts concerning it to the " Entomologist." In 

 1871 the larva were very abundant near Camden Town, and 

 in other districts north of London. Speaking of one field, 

 Mr. Lockyer observes, " They swarm on almost all the plants, 

 but especially on Burdock (Chenopodiurn), and another plant 

 which, I think, is Atriplex. They are also very common in 

 our own garden ; off one Gooseberry bush I took above three 

 dozen full-fed ones. Every evening that I have searched for 

 theni I have taken them in numbers varying from twelve to 

 sixty. I notice that all those on the Gooseberry, the leaves of 

 which are turning brown, are of the brown variety ; whilst 

 those on a Hollyhock close to it were nearly all green. All 

 my entomological friends about here have taken the larvae in 

 greater or less abundance." Mr. Lockyer proceeds to state 

 that it appeared to him their plentifulness in the field referred 

 to, was due to the fact that most of the gardens adjacent had 

 Lime trees in them, about the flowers of which the imagos 

 hover in quest of honey, and hence they would be led to 

 deposit eggs not far off. I have myself noticed that the moth 

 is fond of sweets, and it resorts eagerly to sugar spread upon 

 tree trunks. Writing again last. August, Mr. Lockyer states 

 that he has found the caterpillars abundant on Mint this year, 

 but they are not usually noticed by day, as they then rest 

 under the leaves. It is probable he is right in his conjecture, 

 that naturally the larval feed mostly at night. Of the full- 

 grown larvae taken many were ichneumoned. 



The caterpillar of the common Cabbage Moth (Mamestra 

 Brassicae) , helps in some small degree to supply aliment to our 

 tables, since, by way of unconscious retaliation for the damage 

 it does in our gardens, we occasionally cook it and send it to 

 table ; and the habits of the creature, indeed, expose it to be 

 devoured by that omnivorous glutton man, since it lurks at 

 times in the hearts of Cabbages, and skulks on the partly- 

 folded leaves of other culinary plants. Some persons do not 

 mind eating caterpillars, or swallowing the essence of them. 

 I remember when but a youngster witnessing the operation of 

 shelling Peas, and on mildly objecting to the maggots which I 

 saw dropping into the dish, it was in answer asserted that 

 " whatever fed upon Peas must taste of Peas." The logic 

 even to a juvenile mind was not good. Sheep and oxen feed 



on grass, and pigs upon very various diet, yet their flesh does 

 not taste thereof. But if any one is at all inclined to adopt 

 this theory, I should like him to bite an earwig in half as he is 

 eating some fruit, and he will at once renounce the general 

 principle. Seriously, however, it is quite true that the juices 

 of the majority of caterpillars have little taste, which is for- 

 tunate, since those who have most to do with cutting and pre- 

 paring vegetables for the table do not investigate leaves, stalks, 

 and roots as an entomologist might. In my opinion all cooks 

 ought to receive some lessons in entomology, thus they would 

 not only be made more careful in rejecting caterpillars and 

 other insects, but they might also add something to our stock 

 of information. xwy 



Mamestra Brassicse. 



There appears to be a succession of emergences of the 

 moths, and, consequently, the larva? of M. Brassicas are to be 

 seen about at various times during the summer season. These 

 are variable in colour and markings; the body is smooth and 

 velvety, along the back there is usually an indistinct series of 

 triangular blotches, and enclosed in each are two white dots ; 

 the upper surface of the body is some shade of brown or dull 

 green, and beneath it is generally dingy yellow, the legs being of 

 the same hue. In fields and waste places the caterpillar of 

 M. Brassicce feeds on the species of Chenopodiurn and Bumex 

 and their allies ; in gardens none of the Cabbage tribe come 

 amiss to it. At one time the caterpillars are to be found 

 burrowing into the " hearts " of Cabbages, and secreted in the 

 " heads " of Cauliflowers ; at another time they will be seen 

 feeding exposed upon the leaves. Common by day, they are 

 still more numerous at night if searched for with a lantern. 

 Nor does the species limit itself to culinary vegetables ; 

 Dahlias, Geraniums, Marigolds, .and, in fact, too many plants 

 to enumerate, yield food in turn to the caterpillar, and it 

 is in a great measure through this fact that the insect does 

 not make its attacks specially upon any one plant, that its 

 injurious effects are less marked. As far as my observations 

 extend, this moth is not subject to those notable fluctuations 

 we find in the economy of some of our garden enemies ; there 

 is a certain number every year, but this rarely exceeds an 

 average in a district, though in one garden it may chance to 

 be more abundant than in another. As the females deposit 

 a good proportion of eggs, its multiplication must be checked 

 by some means ; and as it does not seem to be at all a sickly 

 larva (as some are) , its destruction is principally to be attri- 

 buted to parasitic enemies and birds, which devour many of 

 the larvae at all ages, and poultry even eat the pupa or chrysa- 

 lis, as Mr. Newman points out. " During the autumnal and 

 winter garden-digging the chrysalids are turned up by hundreds, 

 and might then be readily collected. They are a favourite 

 food of all kinds of poultry ; fowls, guineafowls, peafowls, and 

 pheasants devour them with avidity." Killing the chrysalids 

 is highly advantageous, whether it be done by human agency 

 or not. The caterpillars can only be got rid of by hand-pick- 

 ing ; they cannot be destroyed, except in rare cases, upon the 

 plants they haunt. The moths may also be swept into a net 

 when engaged in egg-laying at the dusk of evening. 



The moth known as the White Colon (Mamestra albicolor) 

 should be mentioned here as a congener of the last-named, 

 and a species occasionally occurring in gardens, but not at all 

 abundant as a rule. Its food in the open country is the species 

 of Chenopodiurn and Atriplex, in gardens it resorts chiefly to 

 Cabbages and Lettuces. The markings disposed upon the 

 dark brown wings of the perfect insect are much more distinct 

 than in M. Brassicae, and deeper than the ground colour, except 

 along the hind margin, where there is a row of dull white 

 spots. The peculiar mark which gives the name is situated in 

 the reniform spot on the fore wings, being similar to the 

 double dot, or colon, and white. This moth emerges in May 

 or June, and the caterpillar feeds up rather early in the sum- 

 mer. This is also rather unlike the caterpillar of M. Brassicae, 

 having a crescent-shaped mark behind the head, and a dark 



