252 



THE STUDY OF INSECTS. 



larvse (Fig. 299). The full grown larva attains a length of 

 half an inch. The pupa state is passed within the nest made 

 by the larvae. The moth is quite large for a Tineid, the 

 wings expanding five eighths of an inch. Its general color is 



UUUBHDLBiEN&t 



Fig. 2gq.—Laverna sabalelia, larva, pupa, adult, and pait of injured leaf. (From 

 the Author's Report for 1879.) 



a delicate silvery gray, with a tinge of lavender in some in- 

 dividuals. 



The Pine-leaf Miner, Gelechia pinifoliella (Ge-le'chi-a pin-i- 

 fol-i-el'la). — It often happens that the ends of the leaves of 

 pine present a dead and brown appearance that is due to the 

 interior of the leaf having been eaten out. This is the work 

 of the Pine-leaf Miner (Fig. 300). At the right season it is 

 easy to see the long, slender larva in its snug retreat by 

 holding a leaf up to the light and looking through it ; and 

 later the pupa can be seen in the same way. Near the lower 

 end of the tunnel in each leaf there is a round hole through 

 which the larva entered the leaf and from which the adult 

 emerges. We have found this insect in several of the 

 stouter-leaved species of pine, but never in the slender 

 leaves of the white pine. In the North it is most abundant 

 in the leaves of pitch-pine. 



