198 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE PEACH. 



on apple-trees, small black caterpillars covered with short 

 stiff hairs and studded with minute blue spots. As soon as 

 the leaves begin to expand, these larvae issue from their hiding- 

 places and feed upon them. They grow rapidly, and soon 

 attain their full size, when they are nearly an inch long, and 

 a])pear as shown at a. Fig. 206 ; c shows an enlarged side 



Fig. 206. 



view of one of the segments of the body, and d a back view 

 of the same. The full-grown caterpillar is of a velvety 

 black color above, and pale bluish, speckled with black, below. 

 There is a deep orange line along the back, and a more distinct 

 wavy and broken line along each side. The warts from which 

 the bristly hairs issue are of a steel-blue color, with a polished 

 surface, which reflects the light so as to make them appear 

 quite brilliant. 



The larva selects some sheltered spot and there spins a slight 

 cocoon of w^hite silk, within which it changes to a chrysalis 

 of a purplish-brown color, finely punctated, and terminating in 

 a flattened plate tipped with yellowish-brown, curled bristles. 



The moth issues during the early part of June in the 

 Northern and Middle States ; it is of a milk-white or cream 

 color, with the head, collar, and base and tip of the abdomen 

 orange-yellow. On the under side the anterior margins of 

 the wings, the legs, and the body partake of the same hue. 

 When spread, the wings measure about one and three-quarter 

 inches across. 



