INSECT PESTS OF TIMBER 123 



Many of the Lepidoptera (Butterflies and 

 Moths) are very destructive to timber trees. 

 Of this order, the larvae alone are injurious, the 

 adults cannot do any injury even if they would. 



The Common Vapourer Moth, Orgyia antiqua, 

 is a notorious pest because it wUl damage any 

 and every tree ; it is not partial to any species. 

 The larvse are beautifully marked ; red, grey, 

 black, yellow and brown are the predominating 

 colours. From the black head arise a pair of 

 long bristles having the appearance of horns ; 

 on the back there are four bright yellow tufts ; 

 the brown body is spotted with brilHant red. 

 The female, a wingless creature of a grey colour, 

 lays her eggs upon the leaves or young shoots 

 of some favoured tree and the larvse, being 

 voracious feeders, soon carry out the work of 

 defoliation. The winged male is of a chestnut- 

 brown colour, with a white, crescent-shaped dot 

 on each fore wing. This moth may frequently 

 be met with in London parks ; it would be a 

 really dangerous pest were it not kept in check 

 by parasites. 



The larvae of the Buff-tip Moth, Pygaera 

 hucefhala, are especially injurious to Oaks and 

 Elms. The female moth lays her eggs in clusters 

 on the undersides of the leaves. When the larvae 

 first hatch they are gregarious, feeding in groups, 

 hence it is only certain branches of the tree 



