T6 



CRAXBERRY CULTURE. 



first line is situated just beyond the inner third of the 

 wing, and is often obsolete. The second line is the 

 largest, and is slightly bent over once in the middle of 

 the wing. There is a large brown spot parallel to the 

 costa, being situated on the angle. The third line is 

 oblique, and slopes before reaching the inner angle, and 

 is forked on the costa, while the fourth line is a short, 

 a|)ical, diffuse, irregular line. The apex of the wing is 

 dark brown, and is a little more acute than usual in tlie 

 genus. The length of a fore-wing is the twentieth of an 

 inch. It lavs its eojo-s on the leaves during^ the month of 

 August, and a new brood of larvae appears in September, 

 though they hatch mostly in the following spring, or 

 early in June, and become fully grown in July. 



" The larva, seen from above, is much like that of 

 Ijoxotcenia rosaceana^ but the head is a little larger in 

 proportion to the rest of the body, being as wide as the 

 body in its thickest part The body is more hairy, while 

 the prothorax is not dark. The chrysalis is rather slender, 

 the body being contracted at the base of the abdomen, 

 on the rings of which there are dorsal rows of fine spines. 



^' Mr. Fish writes me that these larvas, called the Cran- 

 berry Vine Worms, hatch about the first of June from 

 eggs that have remained upon the leaves of the plant all 

 winter. They commence to feed upon the tender grov>^- 

 ing shoots of the plant, drawing the leaves together with 

 their web for shelter, concealing themselves, and feeding 

 within. Before reaching their full size, they, if very 

 numerous, almost wholly destroy the leaves and tender 

 shoots, giving the whole bog a dark, dry appearance, as 

 thougli a fire had been over it. This is why they are, in 

 some places, known as 'fire worms.'' Having reached 

 their full size, they spin up among the leaves, or among 

 the dead leaves upon the ground. After remaining in the 

 pupa state about ten or thirteen days, the moths come 

 out, and deposit their eggs upon the leaves. 



