LEPIDOPTERA (MOTHS). 207 



ground when mature, which is about June. The larvae are at 

 first dark 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, or falling, 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 at first, changing to red before 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 ceseularia) and the Mottled Umber Moth 

 (Hybernia defoliaria). 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 grease, put round the trees in October' and kept 

 on until March, is a method generally employed for catching 

 the wingless females. A few nevertheless may escape this 

 trap, so that washing is sometimes necessary. A special pre- 

 paration called Tanglefoot is best to use, as it lasts sticky for 

 nine months, and can be put on the bark direct, except on 

 Peach trees. Arsenate of lead is the best wash for Winter 

 Moths. 



Magpie Moth {Abraxas grossulariata). 



Another Geometer is represented by the Magpie Moth 

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

 devour currant, nut, apricot, and other leaves. 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, &c., and neighbour- 

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

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



