Adults deposit their eggs either singly or in groups in the undersides of leaves. 
Young larvae feed on the lower epidermis of the leaves; older ones consume all but 
the larger veins. A full-grown larva forms a cocoon by spinning a network of 
threads around itself and attaching them to the bark in the forks of limbs or twigs. 
Later it secretes a fluid that fills the spaces between the threads and hardens. Winter 
is Spent as a prepupa in the cocoon. People suffer severe skin irritation when they 
come into contact with the larva’s venomous spines. The tachinid parasite, 
Chaetexorista javana Bauer & Bergenstamm, was imported from Japan against this 
species in 1929 and 1930 and has exerted a considerable degree of control. 
Prolimacodes badia Hubner feeds on various hardwoods such as‘oak, beech, and 
black cherry in the Northeastern States and southern Canada. It has also been 
observed feeding on maple in North Carolina. P. scapha Harris feeds on pin cherry 
and blackgum in Massachusetts and New Jersey. /sa textula Herrich-Schaffer feeds 
on Norway maple and oak, Packardia geminata Packard on pin cherry, and 
Tortricidia flexuosa Grote on oak, gray birch, and pin cherry in the New England 
States. 
Family Pyralidae 
Several subfamilies, sometimes listed as separate families, of the Pyralidae 
contain species of interest in forestry. These include the Pyraustinae, Epi- 
paschiinae, and Phycitinae. 
Subfamily Pyraustinae 
Pyraustine Moths 
The grape leaffolder, Desmia funeralis (Hubner), an important pest of grape, 
both cultivated and wild, occurs in eastern North America and along the West 
Coast. It also feeds on Virginia creeper. The body of the adult is black except for a 
white band on the abdomen of the male and two white bands on the abdomen of the 
female. The forewings and hindwings are black with white spots and have coppery . 
reflections. The wingspread is about 25 mm. The larvae live in tubes formed by 
rolling over the edges of leaves and tying them with silk. When they are fully 
grown, larvae are covered with sparse, fine, yellow hairs, are translucent yellow- 
green, and are 18 to 25 mm long. The winter is spent in the pupal stage inside the 
larval tube. There are two generations per year in the South. 
The basswood leafroller, Pantographa limata Grote & Robinson, occurs on 
basswood in southern Canada and throughout the Eastern United States. The adult 
is yellowish white, with an abundance of olive or dull-brown markings, and has a 
wingspread of about 37 mm. Full-grown larvae are bright green, except for black 
heads and black cervical shields, and are about 25 mm long. Adults appear during 
June and July; larvae are present from July to September. Each larva rolls the apical 
half or more of a leaf into the form of a tube in which it lives (fig. 67). Full-grown 
larvae spend the winter in cocoons constructed by folding a part of a leaf. The 
folded leaf drops to the ground with other leaves. Although frequently abundant, 
this species does not seem to cause serious damage. 
Phlyctaenia coronata (Hufnagel), the elder leaftier, larvae feed as leafrollers on 
the leaves of American elder in the Northeastern States. The adult is brown except 
for the presence of creamy-white spots and streaks, and has a wingspread of 22 mm. 
Full-grown larvae are translucent, whitish or pinkish, and about 18 mm long. 
Winter is spent as a prepupa in a hibernaculum usually spun in the hollow stems or 
pith of elder. There may be two generations per year. This species occasionally 
causes serious defoliation. 
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