THE OAK. 



35 



sion of its wings from seven to thirteen lines : the 

 anterior wings are pale green^ with a whitish mar- 

 gin in fronts and the posterior wings brownish. 

 It is so extremely abundant, that towards the end 

 of the month of June, when it first appears, it 

 may be shaken from the trees in perfect showers. 

 The caterpillar of this moth rolls up the oak- 

 leaves in a very ingenious manner, so as to form 



LEAF-ROLLER. 



a very commodious retreat, in which, indeed, it 

 ordinarily resides, the centre of the roll being 

 open : its diameter is proportionate to that of the 

 body of the insect, and the roll is secured by va- 

 rious little packets of silk attached to the body of 

 the leaf and to the adjoining part of the roU."^ 



Among the beetles, the common Cockchafer, or 

 Oakweb,f '^is the most obnoxious of the leaf-eat- 

 ing species. The egg of this terrible devastator 

 is white, and is deposited in the ground, where it 

 soon changes into a soft whitish grub, with a red 

 head, and about an inch and a half long. In this 

 state it continues four years, during which time it 



* Loudon, Arbor. Brit., cap. cy. t Melolontha vulgaris. 



