LEPIDOPTERA (MOTHS). 181 



groups of Silk -Worms (Saturnidce and BombyddcB). The 

 family Liparidm contains the destructive Gypsy Moth (Liparis 

 monacha), whose larvae have heen such a scourge in Massa- 

 chusetts (U.S.A.) 



The Lackey Moth (Bombyx (CUssiocampa) neustria). 



The Lackey Moth, one of the family Eombycidse, is often 

 injurious to a serious extent in our orchards. The female moth 

 is about an inch and a quarter in expanse of wing, and brownish- 

 red in colour, with a pale stripe on each wing : sometimes the 

 stripe is darker than the ground-colour of the wing. The male 

 is more of a yellowish-brown colour, and smaller than the 

 female. The adults appear in July and August, and the 

 female lays her eggs in bands tightly fixed round the smaller 

 twigs and stems of the apple and other fruit-trees : these 

 ribbon -like egg -bands remain on the trees all the winter, 

 often becoming loose, so that the whole band can be turned 

 round like a ring. The larvse are hatched in April and May, 

 living for some time under a tent of silk in large companies 

 and feeding beneath it. As they grow they spread out over the 

 tree. When mature they reach nearly two inches in length, 

 and are dark-brown in colour, striped longitudinally with red, 

 yellow, and blue, and covered with tawny hairs. They spin 

 a loose cocoon of white or pale yellow silk amongst the leaves, 

 from which the moth emerges in July and August. The tent 

 of silk sometimes reaches a foot in length. 



Remedies. — Washing is naturally useless, as the young larvae 

 have their food protected by the silken tent, and thus avoid the 

 poisoned leaves for some time. In France they out the tents 

 down with long-handled shears and burn them ; or they can 

 soon be destroyed, like wasp-nests, by blowing them down with 

 a blank cartridge. The eggs are too hard to be affected by any 

 winter wash. 



