196 THE MINIATUEE FRUIT GARDEN 



They disperse before they become fall fed, and after- 

 wards spin a cocoon of moderately firm texture, inter- 

 mixed with a sulphur-coloured powder. The moth 

 appears about August. Its fore wings measure about 

 an inch and a half from tip to tip. The colour varies 

 from pale ochreous to sandy red. The fore wings have 

 two transverse brown streaks across the middle, between 

 which the colouring is sometimes somewhat darker. 

 The nests should be cut from the trees when the larvae 

 are in them, on a wet day or early in the morning, and 

 destroyed immediately. 



The Gold-tail Moth (Porthesia aurifiua) is a satiny 

 white moth, with a brownish-black spot on each of the 

 fore wings, and a yellow tuft of hair at the extremity 

 of its abdomen. It measures a little over an inch 

 across the wings. It is found in August. The larva 

 feeds on the leaves of the apple, &c., and is occasionally 

 very abundant. It is black with a whitish dorsal 

 stripe, interrupted by small humps on the fifth, sixth, 

 and twelfth segments ; the reddish line along each side 

 of this stripe has a row of white dots along it, and 

 there is another reddish line above the legs. It occurs 

 in May and June. It is destroyed by hand-picking 

 and washes, like the other orchard larvae. 



The Magpie or Currant Moth (Abraxas grossu- 

 lariata). The larva of this moth, called a ' looper,' from 

 the loop which it makes with its body when walking, 

 sometimes appears in great numbers on the leaves of 

 the gooseberry and currant, and nearly strips the 



