186 LEPIDOPTERA (MOTHSj. 



mature, which is about June. The larvae are at first grey ; as 

 they grow they change to green, with pale stripes along their 

 body. They spin the leaves and blossom together. When 

 mature they measure an inch in length. Lowering themselves 

 down by a cord of silk, they then form a cocoon which is 

 covered outside with earth, and hatch out in the late autumn 

 and winter. 



The moths lay their eggs close to the buds : they are small 

 green bodies, changing to red Ijefore they hatch, and are 

 clearly visible to the naked eye. Other allied species with 

 wingless females and doing similar damage are the March 

 Moth (Anisopteryx cescularia) and the Mottled Umber Moth 

 (Hyhernia defoUaria). The March Moth appears in the early 

 spring, and lays her eggs in bands round the twigs. The female 

 is quite wingless, so is the female Mottled Umber. 



Prevention and Remedies. — Bands of grease-proof paper, 

 smeared with cart grease, put round the trees in October 

 and kept on until March, is a method generally employed 

 for catching the wingless females. Large numbers nevertheless 

 escape this trap, so that washing is always necessary. Arsenical 

 washes are best. 



Magpie Moth (Abraxas grossulariata). 



Another Geometer is represented by the Magpie Moth 

 (Abraxas grossulariata), whose black and white " loopers " 

 devour the currant leaves, and even fruit. Unlike the 

 Winter Moths, the Abraxas larva spins a very slight case of 

 silk, in which the " looper " is transformed into a black-and- 

 yellow-banded pupa upon the currant-bushes and neighbouring 

 walls and fences, always above-ground. The moths have a 

 wing expanse of two inches ; they are creamy white, spotted 

 and banded with black and yellow ; we may see them in almost 

 any garden in July and August, flying lazily about over the 

 currant-bushes at dusk. The eggs, which are oblong yellowish 



