196 LEPIDOPTEUA (MOTHS). 



lepidoptera. The last three contain the majority of the injurious 

 species. 



The Splihuilna are the Hawk-moths {Sphiiviidai). They are 

 provided with a long proboscis and usually pointed abdomen. 

 The antennae taper to a point at the end. The larvae of the 

 Hawks have a curious horn on the last segment, and live upon 

 the leaves of various plants. The Eyed-hawk (Sinerinthm 

 oeellatus) may be taken as an example, and is sometimes 

 harmful to apples. 



The larvae of the Clearwings {^Eijpriidjri) are all creamy- 

 white in colour, and live by burrowing into the stems of 

 shrubs and trees. 



The Gutrant Gleanring (^geria tipidifoi'mis). 



This pretty little moth (fig. 96) is often very injurious in 

 black-currant plantations. The Clearwings (^Ef/enidd') take 

 their name from the fact that the major 

 area of their wings is transparent. This 

 species is a little more than two-thirds of 

 an inch in expanse of wing ; the body and 

 thorax are purplish black with yellow bands. 

 Fig. 96.— Currant These clearwings have a black fringe to the 

 fupuUfiZis). ^■*^'"'' '"'ings. a black bar across the fore-wings, and 

 the ends with black veins and with a yellowish 

 sheen. The currant clearwing appears in the latter part of ^lay, 

 but chieily in June. The female lays her eggs M-here a small 

 twig breaks off, and also on the buds, the larvae making their 

 way into the centre of the shoots. The caterpillars, which are 

 creamy-white, tunnel both up and down the stems during the 

 winter, and by April are full-grown (three-quarters to nearly 

 an inch long). They then pupate in a cocoon of loose silk in 

 the tunnel. The brown spiny pupa pushes its way out of a 

 hole (fig. 98, a) previously formed by the larva up to the rind 

 of the stem, when the moth bursts its way out. All kinds 



