LEPIDOFTEEA (MOTHS). 



179 



continue all the following winter. In the spring they pupate 

 in the same place : the pupse are chestnut brown, with circles 

 of spines around them. The larvte are often quite green, 

 although the skin is white, the food showing through. They 

 are very active luiderground, preferring loose soil to work in ; 

 when put on the soil or in the hand they wriggle violently back- 

 wards when touched. Strawberries, lettuce, and mint seem their 

 favourite diet. The moth is about an inch in expanse of wing 

 and brown m colour, with white markings as shown in fig. 81, 



c 



3- 



Fig. 81. — Garden Swift-moth (Ilepialus ltipulinus\ pujia and larva. 

 a, Enlarged segment of larv^. 



and flies with great rajjidity at dusk over tlie tops of the grass 

 and other plants. 



Remedies. — Dry dressings of soot, lime, and kainit in the 

 winter are said to drive them awaj^, whilst prong-hoeing disturbs 

 them and exposes some to the attack of birds. Watering with 

 soluble phrenyl has been found beneficial in early winter. 



The Gliost-motli (H. huinuli) is a large, pure, satiny-white 

 moth, in the male sex, about two inches across the wings, which 

 are dusky beneath, the body and thorax yellow : the female 

 is larger, and dull yellow with orange on the fore-wings, hind 

 ones brown. The larvaj are long white grubs with distinct 

 brown head, found during the winter in hop-stocks and devour- 

 ing the roots of grass, where they are extremely difiicult to 

 destroy. 



