2IO 



The Y Moth. 



of clover — chiefly the second cuts. They also devour peas, 

 rape, turnips, and cabbage. According to Taschenberg and 

 Ritzema Bos, they attack sugar-beet plants in France and 

 Germany, and Nordlinger says that in France in 1735 they 

 ruined the crops of peas, beans, hemp, flax, and vegetables 

 in wide-spreading districts. In 1828, in parts of East 

 Prussia, many fields of beans, peas, flax, cabbage, and 

 potatoes were stripped of all but the stalks of the plants. 

 Most serious damage has been caused to sugar-beet in more 

 recent seasons in Saxony and other parts of Germany. In 

 the summer of 1879 there was a great invasion of this insect 

 in the whole of Western Europe, and much harm was caused 

 to many crops. In 1881 these caterpillars were abundant in 

 several parts of Kent, and appeared again though in some- 

 what diminished numbers, in 1892. 



Description and Life History, 



The Y moth is about three-quarters of an inch long with a 

 wing expanse of from to inches. The head and thorax 

 are brown, with a purple tinge, and the fore wings are silvery 

 ;gray, with brownish markings. Upon each wing there is a 

 ;silvery mark placed obliquely, resembling the Greek letter 7 

 or an English Y. Its hind wings are grayish brown with 

 •dark margins. 



The caterpillar is usually light green, with pale yellow or 

 whitish lines down its back, and a darker yellow streak along 

 the side, with somewhat sparse hairs upon the body. (Fig. 2 0,) 

 It has only twelve feet, and moves with a modified " loop." 

 The caterpillar spins its cocoon under the leaves of plants 

 and changes to a black chrysalis. There are successions of 

 broods. The moths may be seen flying about from June till 

 October, and hibernation is passed in the moth stage and in 

 the chrysalis form, as well as in the larval state, as small 

 caterpillars have been found in the winter. 



Methods of Prevention and Remedies. 



When the caterpillars are noticed on clover, rolling with a 

 heavy roller has been found beneficial. This can only be 

 done in the early stages of the growth of the plants, after 



