ATTACKING THE LEAVES. 105 



pany with the common Pahner-worm, from which it differs 

 only in having the head and the upper part of the second seg- 

 ment of a polished black color. The moth of this black-headed 

 larva differs from the common Palmer-worm moth chiefly in 

 the ground-color of the wings, which are dark brown on the 

 inner half, with the outer half white, the latter sometimes 

 tinged with tawny yellowish. The other insect is described 

 as "the tawny-striped Palmer-worm, Choetochilus malifoU- 

 ellus^^^ and is a slender, pale-yellowish larva, similar in size 

 to the ordinary Palmer-worm, with a tawny-yellow stripe 

 along each side of the back, broadly margined above and 

 below with white. The head is pale yellow, and there are a 

 few minute dots scattered over the surface of the body, from 

 each of which arises a iine hair. It appears daring the early 

 part of July, which is a little later than the common Palmer- 

 worm, but has precisely similar habits. The moth is ash-gray 

 and glossy, often with a purplish-red reflection, and differs 

 from the moth of the common species in that the fore wings 

 are not sprinkled with black atoms, and in having in addition 

 to the dots on the fore wings a tawny-yellow band towards 

 the tips, edged with whitish in front. Should these prove to 

 be distinct and at any time troublesome, the treatment sug- 

 gested for the common Palmer-worm will be equally applica- 

 ble in either case. 



No. 45. — Climbing Cut-worms. 



These are the caterpillars of various night-flying moths, 

 and are w^ell known to horticulturists and gardeners every- 

 where. Most of the species are particularly destructive to 

 young cabbage-plants and similar young and tender vege- 

 tation, cutting or severing the plants, when but three or four 

 inches high, just above or below the ground, from which habit 

 they derive their common name. They are active only at 

 night, remaining concealed during the day just under the 

 surface of the earth in the immediate neighborhood of their 

 feeding-grounds. Some of the species are known as climbing 



