OF THE FAEM AND GARDE^T. 



4^ 



and constricted at their lower edge, and the hind wings 

 haying their inner two-thirds of this same semi-transpar- 

 ent yellow. Tiie under surfaces have a more decided 

 pearly lustre. The thighs, the breast, and the abdomen 

 below, are all of a beautiful silvery- white, and the other 

 joints of the long legs are of the same tawny or golden- 

 yellow as the semi-transparent parts of the wings. The 

 abdomen of the female terminates in a small, flattened 

 black brush, squarely trimmed, and the segment directly 

 preceding this brush is of a 

 rust-brown color above. The 

 corresponding segment in the 

 male is, on the contrary, whit- 

 ish anteriorly, and of the same 

 color as the rest of the body 

 posteriorly; and he is, more- 

 over, at once distinguished from Fig. 32^^— moth op pickle 

 the female by the immense worm. 

 brush at his tail, which is generally much larger than re- 

 presented in the above figure, and is composed of narrow, 

 lengthened (ligulate) scales, which remind one of the 

 petals of the common English Daisy, some of these scales 

 being whitish, some orange, and others brown. This 

 moth was described nearly a century ago by Cramer. 



The genus to which it belongs is characterized chiefly 

 by the partly transparent wings, and by the immense 

 scaly brush of the males. The antennae are long, fine, 

 and thread-like, those of the male being very finely 

 ciliated; the abdomen extends beyond the wings, and the 

 legs are very long and slender. The species are for the 

 most part exotic, and the larvae of all of them, so far as 

 known, feed on cucurbitaceous plants. 



But our Pickle-worm is an indigenous species, and has, 

 doubtless, existed in some part or other of the country, 

 from time immemorial; and now that its habits are 

 recorded, and its history made known, I should not be 



