INSECT ENEMIES OF EASTERN FORESTS 461 
more or less concealed feeders, either rolling, tying, or webbing the 
leaves of the host plant. 
Machimia tentoriferella Clem. is a ight-ochreous moth with a wing 
expanse of 34 to % inch. The forewings are dusted with black and 
ach has two black discal dots, a spot of black in the fold, a broken 
postmedial line parallel to the outer margin, and a series of black 
terminal dots. ‘The hind wings are smoky brown. The larva is a 
green leaf tier, with a large head, and tapering body. It constructs 
a web on the underside of a leaf along the midrib, causing the leaf to 
fold. It is solitary in habit and feeds in the open. Although com- 
mon in the Northeastern States and a rather general feeder on wild 
cherry, mountain-ash, maple, oak, etc., it has never been of much eco- 
nomic importance. The larvae feed in July and August, and the 
moths issue late in August and September. 
The species of 'Pslocorsis are also leaf tiers. The moths are light 
brown and have a wing expanse of about 34 inch. The forewings are 
marked with transverse streaks of a darker shade, a blackish discal 
dot, and at least a trace of a blackish terminal line. Knowledge of 
the larvae and food plants are necessary for determination, as all 
species are quite similar. The larva ties two leaves together and 
between them feeds on the epidermis or skeletonizes them, causing 
the leaves to turn brown. 
Psilocorsis faginella (Chamb.) is common in the Northeastern 
States. The larva feeds on beech. It is whitish, tinted with pink, and 
the head and sides of the prothorax are brown. The larvae feed during 
August and September, pass the winter in the pupal stage, and the 
moths issue late in May and June. P. reflewella Clem. and P. querc- 
cella Clem. are found on oaks in the Eastern States. These leaf tiers 
of the family Oecophoridae are seldom, if ever, abundant enough to 
warrant control measures in the forest. A protective arsenical spray 
(p. 367) applied to the foliage of shade and ornamental trees should 
prevent injury. 
Famity BLASTOBASIDAE 
The moths of the family Blastobasidae are rather small, with long 
antennae; the scales on the head are long, often covering the face 
and the base of the antennae. The scape of the antenna is broad and 
is armed with a fringe of strong bristles, and the hind wings are 
lanceolate and narrower than the forewings. Little is known about 
the habits of many of the species. Of those whose habits are known, 
the larvae, in general, are borers in cones, nuts, and seeds; some, how- 
ever, are scavengers in nuts, following borer infestation, and in insect 
galls. Others are predaceous on scale insects. 
Valentinia glandulella (Riley), the acorn moth, is generally dis- 
tributed through the oak regions of the Atlantic States westerly into 
the Central States, and in California and Oregon, and occasionally 1s 
abundant enough to do considerable damage. The larvae are grayish 
white or yellowish, with blackish dorsal marks, and the cervical and 
anal shields are brownish. Acorns are the preferred food, but the 
larvae have also been found in chestnuts and hickory nuts. Although 
it was long supposed that this species attacked only fallen acorns that 
had been infested by the acorn weevil, Carl Heinrich found it in 1915 
attacking perfectly healthy acorns. He reared moths from larvae 
taken from acorns on trees at Falls Church, Va. Apparently there 1s 
