298 



Insect Pests 



LiFE-HlSTOllY ANU HaIUTS. 



The motli appears in :\Iay ; in lOOG as earl}' as the llith of j\Iayat 

 Wye, tlie year before not nntil the 27th. in size it varies from 7 to 

 8 mm. iu'wing expansion. The anterior wings are pale oehreous 

 brown, with a "snowy white basal streak, and on tlie inner margin 

 a thin white streak much smaller than the above ; towards the apex 

 four white converging areas above and three below ; the hind wings 

 are white with duskv liase, and the long fringes are grey in the 

 female, of a dull yellowish tinge in the male. The tliorax is the 

 same colour as the wings, with a median and lateral white stripes. 



The abdomen is grey, and 

 the tuft pale oehreous. 

 The legs are grey, with 

 white tarsal segments 

 spotted with fuscous. 



They lay their eggs on 

 the leaf, choosing, it seems, 

 a still, fine evening just 

 l)efore sunset. The iar\';e 

 then Imrrow into the leaf, 

 and feed upmi the soft 

 mesophyll and eat it out 

 in a more or less rounded area, the upiper epidermis being left 

 intact, liut quite separate from the rest of the leaf and showing qirite 

 white (I have never seen the oehreous central area described by 

 Staiuton). (Jccasionally. when the mine is near a mid rib or the 

 edge of the leaf, the leaf becomes much puckered and folded. 



In this Ijlister tlie larva' mav lie found up to the beginning of 

 July. 



When mature the larva reaches aliont 4%3 mm. in length, Tt i'; 

 pale yellowish-green, the first three segments more yellowish, and 

 the eighth with a somewhat obscure orange-yellow spot ; the last two 

 segments aie yellowish. The head pale brown, with dark brown 

 markings ; when retracted the lobes show through the first segment 

 as two brown spots. Legs very pale. 



This larva, when c^uite young, lies in a, cur\ed ]i(isition, but as it 

 reaches maturity it straightens out. It can generally be seen in the 

 mine at work by holding the leaf up to a strong light. Some dusky 

 spots are noticeable beneath in the young lar\a, but they soon 

 disappear. 



Pupation takes place in the blister, and bv the first or second 



[Horace Kiihjiit. 



-NUT-LEAF HLKTEl; MUTn (LllJiiieoHrlit 



