75 



CHAPTER III. 



ON TIIK FOOD OP MOTHS. 



The food of the Phatena next demands our at- 

 tention. The Tinea resindla and the Minute Moth 

 feed on the resinous or other excretations, exuded 

 from trees ; others of tlie Tineai eat only the paren- 

 cliyma, never touching the cuticle. The Noctua 

 ochraceaga eats the pith alone, while others select 

 the pollen and honey secreted in the nectaries. The 

 larvaj of different I'lncce, as before observed, feed on 

 wool ; but it is wisely ordered by nature, that un- 

 washed wool is never touched by them. The Tinea 

 described by Reaumur, devours the highest perfumed 

 chocolate; and the Wax Moth caterpillars will, 

 for want of that substance, eat paper, wool, wafers, 

 &c. The larvce whicli feed on vegetables, seem to 

 be less general in satisfying their appetites, although 

 it is likely they can subsist on various kinds' of food 

 in cases of necessity. Many species of lepidopterous 

 larvse are polyphagous, feeding on almost all kinds 

 of plants. Reaumur, however, asserts, that if a 

 caterpillar has fed for some time on any particular 

 plant, although not the one appropriated to it by 



