I9i i.] 



Swift Moths. 



119 



grown ; in colour it is whitish or pinkish-white, with the 

 spiracles black. The head is red-brown, as is also the dorsal 

 plate on the joint behind the head; there are black or dark- 

 brown dots on the upper surface of the segments of the body, 

 with black hairs. 



Pupa: The colour of the pupa is dark chestnut; the upper 

 surface of the abdominal joints shows a number of dark 

 brown points, and there are black teeth on the under surface ; 

 the last segment has marked black points. The pupa is 

 enclosed in a slight cocoon, and lies in the soil quite near 

 the surface. 



Life History. — The moths fly in June and July. The 

 courtship of this species has been described by Chapman. 



The moths fly in the gloaming. The male, ghost-like and 

 conspicuous by the silvery white colour in spite of the dusk, 

 chooses a place and hovers for a short time backwards and 

 forwards, "swaying like a pendulum over a surface of about 

 a yard" (Barrett) in order to attract the female. Sometimes 

 the male is alone, sometimes there are several males in 

 company. The female, non-fertilised, flies towards a male 

 and intentionally touches or knocks up against the male, 

 which at once ceases its swaying and drops to the ground, 

 where pairing takes place. The fertilised female flies about 

 over the grass, discharging her eggs as she flies. From the 

 egg hatches the caterpillar, which feeds from July till the 

 next April or May at least, when pupation takes place. As 

 with the last species, the pupa leaves the cocoon just before 

 the emergence of the moth, and by means of its spines 

 wriggles to the surface. 



Treatment. — Vaporite has been used with some success 

 against swift caterpillars. 



Pieces of potato tuber placed here and there some inches 

 below the surface of the soil, in marked places, will serve 

 as traps. 



The working of the soil where the crop allows, and the 

 turning up of the caterpillars to the birds is a useful measure, 

 or the caterpillars can be collected. 



In some cases, e.g., with daffodils, should the pest be 

 abundant, the bulbs should be lifted and replanted. There 

 are disadvantages to this course, but in some cases the 



