INSECT AND OTHEE PLANT ENEMIES. 



87 



Remedies. — As the caterpillars live in bundles 

 of leaves tied together with silken threads, 

 dwarf trees and those on walls may be cleared 

 of the pest by a man and a boy, one of whom 

 could hold a tarred tray beneath the bundles of 

 leaves, while the other disturbed the caterpillars 

 by loosening the leaves. The cocoons may be 

 found later on in the same bundles of leaves, 

 or upon the surface of the ground if any of 

 the caterpillars have escaped, and may then be 

 collected. On a large scale, and in the case of 

 standard trees, spraying with Paris -green in 

 April would destroy those caterpillars which 

 leave their retreat to feed, or which eat through 

 the bundles of leaves. 



Magpie Moth {Abraxas grossulariata). — 

 Across the wings this moth measures 1 \ inch to 

 If inch. The fore-wings are white, with trans- 

 verse, interrupted bands of black spots, and some 

 orange at the base and middle. The caterpillars 

 are white, with several rows of black spots, of 

 which those along the back are very prominent. 

 The eggs are laid upon the bushes about the end 

 of summer, and hatch in September, when the 

 caterpillars feed for a time, then hibernate 

 amongst leaves and rubbish till the following 

 May. They feed upon Currants, Gooseberries, 

 and other subjects till full -sized, when they 



Fig. 108.— Magpie Moth (Abraxas grossulariata) and Larva. 



change to black pupse, ornamented with orange 

 rings, and may be easily noticed, suspended as 

 they are upon the bushes. 



Remedies. — Bushes that are known to have 

 been attacked should be inspected during June 

 and the beginning of July for the showy pupae 

 suspended in them. This could be done by boys. 

 When the caterpillars commence the attack in 

 September, the bushes may be sprayed with 

 Paris-green, as prescribed for the Garden Pebble 

 Moth, except where fruit is still hanging, in the 

 case of very late crops. Immediately the leaves 

 fall in autumn, collect the leaves very carefully 

 and burn them, to destroy any caterpillars that 

 may be hibernating amongst them. If the spray- 



ing is properly done, however, all the cater- 

 pillars will gee killed while still quite young. 



Mottled Umber Moth (Hybernia defoli- 

 aria). — The male measures 1J inch to If inch 



Fig. 109.— Mottled Umber Moth {Hybernia defoliaria). 

 1. Male moth. 2. Female moth. 3, Caterpillar (natural size). 



across the fore-wings, which are pale-yellowish, 

 marbled with yellowish-brown and dusted with 

 brown. The female is wingless, and more like a 

 spider than a moth. The caterpillars are reddish- 

 brown upon the back, and feed upon the Apple 

 and other trees of the Rose family during May 

 and June. 



Remedies. — The females ascend the trees 

 during October and November to lay their eggs 

 upon the stems, branches, and spurs, and their 

 habits being precisely the same as those of the 

 Winter Moth, the remedies for the latter will 

 apply in this case. 



Pale Brindled Beauty Moth (Phigalia 

 pilosaria). — The expanded wings of this species 

 measure 1J inch to nearly 2 inches across, and 

 are pale-gray with a greenish tinge, and four 

 slender, wavy lines across them. The caterpillars 

 sometimes attack the Apple and Pear during May 

 and June, and are grayish-brown tinted with 

 red, and have four small projections on the back. 

 They have only four sucker feet behind, on which 

 they raise themselves when alarmed, and appear 

 like pieces of dead wood. 



Remedies. — The females are wingless, and 

 crawl up the trees to lay their eggs during the 

 first three months of the year. Tar bands 

 should be tied round the trees at this period 

 as for the Winter Moth, which see for other 

 remedies. 



Pea and Bean Weevils. — There are two 

 species of weevils which are destructive to the 

 young plants of Peas and Beans during March 

 and April, after the warm weather commences. 

 The Striped Pea Weevil (Sitona lineata) is 2 

 lines long, and black, with rusty -red horns, 

 shanks, and feet. The wing-cases are striped 



