LEAF-ROLLERS.— THE OAK MOTH. 
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cocoon of the large Oak Egger Moth, and if there be any such 
i perforations, they are so minute as to escape notice. 
We now pass to the enormous variety of caterpillars which 
are popularly called Leaf-rollers, because they make their homes 
in leaves which they curl up in various methods. 
Some use a single leaf, and others employ two or more in the 
construction of their nests. Even the single-leaf insects dis- 
play a wonderful variety in their modes of performing an 
apparently simple task. Some bend the leaf longitudinally, and 
merely fasten the two edges together, while others bend it trans- 
versely, fixing the point to the middle nervure. Some roll it 
longitudinally, so as to make a hollow cylinder corresponding 
with the entire length of the leaf, while others roll it transversely 
so that the cylinder is only as long as the leaf is wide, and a 
few species cut a slit in the leaf and roll up only a small portion 
of it. 
The leaf-roller caterpillars belong to numerous species, and 
are plentiful enough, too- plentiful indeed to please the gardener, 
who finds the leaves of his favourite trees curled up and per- 
manently disfigured by these little marauders. All of them are 
of small size, and some so minute that the mere fact of their 
ability to roll up a leaf is something wonderful. 
One of the most common among the Leaf-rollers is the pretty 
Oak Moth ( Tortrix viridana ). It is a little creature with four 
rather wide delicate wings, the upper pair of a soft leaf green, 
and the under pair of a greyish hue. In some seasons, the 
moths, or rather their larvae, are so plentiful that great damage 
is done to the oak forests, tree after tree being so covered with 
them that scarcely a leaf escapes destruction, and the growth 
of the tree is consequently checked. 
Like all Leaf-rollers, they feed on the green substance, or 
parenchyma of the leaf, and being ensconced within their tubular 
home can eat without fear of molestation. They are not very 
much afraid even of the small birds, for as soon as a bill is 
