second instar larvae spin webs around flowers and leaves, within 
which they live and feed (fig. 158). Adjacent surfaces of webbed 
leaves may be skeletonized, turn brown, and die. Older larvae feed 
on the tender, terminal leaves. Pupae of this generation are 
formed in the webbing of infested trees. Second generation adults 
appear during late July and early August and deposit their eggs 
on webs formed by first generation larvae. In heavily infested 
areas, the larvae of this generation may completely defoliate their 
hosts. Some of the second generation larvae pupate in cocoons 
spun in webs on trees, and the adults appear during the fall. 
Other larvae move to the soil or other protected places, pupate, 
and spend the winter (756). 
The mimosa webworm is a serious defoliator of ornamental 
plantings of mimosa and honey locust. The thornless variety of 
honey locust is heavily attacked in nurseries. Season-long protec- 
tion against attack has been obtained by the use of systematic 
insecticides (198). 
FAMILY AEGERIIDAE 
CLEARWING MOTHS 
Members of this family are known as clearwing moths because 
the greater parts of one or both pairs of wings are without scales, 
thus leaving them clear or transparent. The forewings are long 
and narrow, with the outer margins short and the anal veins 
reduced. The hindwings are somewhat broader than the fore- 
wings, and the anal areas are well developed. In some species, the 
two sexes are colored differently. Many species bear a striking 
resemblance to bees or wasps. The adults are swift fliers and are 
most often seen around flowers. The larvae are ivory-white and 
mostly unmarked. They bore in the roots and basal stalks, the 
trunks, or branches of trees and shrubs, and vines, or in the stems 
and roots of herbaceous plants. A few form galls, others are in- 
quilines in galls, and some inhabit injured areas on the trunks or 
branches of their hosts. A number of species are important pests 
COURTESY OF ILL. NAT. HIST. SURV. 
FIGURE 158.—Webs formed 
by the mimosa webworm, 
Homadula anisocentra. 
