426 
THE LILAC-LEAF ROLLER MOTH. 
insignificant, tliougli their vast numbers often give them powers of destruction which are 
unequalled by the larger but scarcer insects. 
The Pebble Hook-tip Moth is one of these insects, and one that has greatly perplexed 
systematic entomologists to place it in its proper position. The Geometridse, as a rule, have 
the antennae perfectly simple and thread-like ; but the male of this insect has those organs in 
a feathery form, like those of other families. The larva, again, is of rather eccentric shape, 
with projections along its back, with tufts of stiff hairs, and assuming an attitude very like 
that which is characteristic of the puss-moth larva already described. 
The popular name of this moth is derived from the hook-like tips of the wings. Its color 
is reddish -buff, over which are drawn a number of waved dusky streaks. In the centre of the 
wing there is a dusky spot, and an orange-brown stripe is drawn from the inner margin to the 
extremity. 
A very pretty and well-known moth is the Oak-leae Roller ( Tortrix mridana ), a 
moth of a beautiful apple-green upon the upper wings. In the illustration the insect is repre- 
sented in its natural size. In some places, these moths 
swarm to a fearful extent, stripping whole trees of their 
leaves. I have known the oaks to be surrounded with 
whole clouds of these moths, fluttering about like gnats, 
and forming an exhaustless banquet to the empis-flies, 
oak-leap roller and caterpillar.— w p| c ] 1 we re catching them by thousands, embracing them 
Tortnx mridana. 0 J ; ° 
in their long legs, and flying about with their prey, suck- 
ing their juices like so many winged vampires. 
Other species live beneath the bark of trees, or even burrow into the wood, while others 
are hatched in the interior of fruits, and live unsuspected in their retreats until they are on 
the point of changing to the pupa form, when they eat their way out, and leave a round hole 
as a memento of their presence. The Codling-moth is one of the commonest of these tire- 
some insects, living in the middle of the fruit from which it takes its name, and giving rise to 
the condition which is termed “maggoty.” The larva is a round, fat, white grub, which may 
too often be found in the interior of an apparently sound and ripe apple, and which gives to 
every part which it has touched a very bitter and nauseous flavor, like that of a worm-eaten 
nut. Hone of the Tortricidse are of very brilliant colors, the Oak-leaf Roller being one of the 
most conspicuous. The fore wings are dark grayish-brown, striped transversely with a darker 
tint. On the outer part of each wing there is a dark brown space streaked with golden bars. 
The hind wings are simple dusky -brown. 
The rose suffers sadly from the ravages of several of these moths, some of which feed 
within the bud, and others tie the young leaves together and feed upon the interior. 
The Tineidse form a very large family of moths, all of which are of small dimensions, and 
some exceedingly minute. From several points in their structure, Mr. Westwood seems 
doubtful whether they ought not to be united to the Yponomeutidse ; the general narrowness 
of their wings, and the rare occurrence of labial palpi, being the points by which they have 
been separated. The larvse of most of the species form portable cases of various materials, in 
which they reside, some feeding upon animal, and others upon vegetable substances. The too 
well-known Clothes-moth ( Tinea icupetzdla) belongs to this family. There is another species 
of the same genus, popularly called the Wolf-moth ( Tinea gravella), which haunts granaries 
and malt-houses, and does great damage by feeding on the grains and fastening them together 
with its silken web. 
The pretty little Lilac -leaf Roller Moth belongs to this family. Those who possess 
gardens have doubtlessly noticed that many leaves of the common lilac are rolled into a cylin- 
drical form, bound together by silken threads, and that, if this little case be opened, out 
tumbles a small whitish caterpillar with a black head, who loses no time in letting itself to tne 
ground by means of a silken fibre spun from its mouth. How the larva rolls the leaf is quite 
a mystery, and though it has been watched by many careful observers and seen to fasten its 
