448 



Insect Pests. 



-I'UPA IIV (lAIlliEN Sn'IFT 

 MOTH. 



larviB (Fit;-. 290) coming from tliom at once enter the soil and commence 

 to feed upon tlie roots of the plants. They may be found from mid 

 June right through the winter to April. In size they are fairly 



uniform, when mature being nearly 

 fi inch long, when expanded. The 

 colour is dull white to creamy-white, 

 ^ gjanfTpBfefc. somewhat shiny, the head chestnut-brown, 



^^HIBhI mandiljles dark ; the first segment is 



white, but, owing to the head being 

 partly withdrawn into it at times, as- 

 sumes a brown colour ; the spiracles 

 are dark with a pale border ; each 

 segment has four hairs upon its dorsunr, the two lower ones being 

 the larger, arising from dark dots, and there are four other hairs 

 on the sides of each segment ; their legs are normal. When touched 

 they wriggle backwards with great energy. Greenish tinged speci- 

 mens may occur (1), but not in the roots of strawl jerries. 



The pupa' are found in the ground in May. They are brown 

 to chestnut-lirown in colour, cylindrical, with deeply constricted 

 abdominal segments, es- 

 pecially ventrally, five 

 of the abdominal seg- 

 ments are armed with 

 rows of spines, on ridges, 

 on the dorsum, four 

 have rows of ventral 

 projections, and the 

 last segment is pro- 

 minently ridged, the 

 caudal extremity has 

 two divergiu" wart-like 

 processes and a few 

 hairs or bristles. The 

 segments ai-e freely 



movable. In length the pupa; reach a little over j inch. They 

 are found some little distance below the ground in a pale loose 

 silken cocoon, or may be nude. 



■292.— E.Vr.TIIKN COOOON AMi EJIPTY ITl'.V 



^,A];ltE^' s^met :\toTll. 



F. EJciHhii. 

 KIN OF 



Natural Enemies. 

 The only insect enemy of the larva' seems to be a species of bug. 

 an Anthocoris ((i), which sucks the juices of the larva' and soon 

 causes their death. Their method of procedure is to crawl upon tlie 



