902 
Annual Report of New York 
FLOWERY PRIMROSE-MOTH. HABITS OF THE LARVA. 
and each of the branches puts forth about four new flowers daily, 
arraying the plant in such a mass of bloom as renders it an orna¬ 
ment of stately splendor. These worms occur evenly distributed, 
one upon each branch, the flower buds growing thereon each daj r , 
supplying them with the exact amount of sustenance which they 
require. Thus each bud as they mature from day to day is visited 
in its turn. When it first begins to attract notice tho worm is 
about half the length of the elongated bud, up which it crawls from 
the stalk, till the whole of its body is standing upon the bud, thus 
bringing its head about opposite the middle of the bud. It then 
commences gnawing into the bud, boring a round hole therein of 
sufficient size to admit its head, which it sinks downward, farther 
and farther, eating through the folded mass of petals, nearly or 
quite cutting them asunder, and severing also the stamens and 
pistil. Thus when the flower comes to burst forth from its bud at 
the close of the day, it is but half its normal size, and presents a most 
rueful aspect with the outer ends of its petals gnawed and ragged, 
and all the beauty of their natural appearance destroyed. The 
worm having finished its meal withdraws its neck and head from 
the hole and moves a short distance downwards, and there stands 
motionless for a time, for its food to digest, its body being so simi¬ 
lar in size and color to the long tube forming the base of the flower 
bud that it is liable to escape observation unless the search for it is 
sharp. When it has rested awhile it crawls farther downward till 
it comes to the branch, or till it can reach the next bud of the 
branch, up which it mounts and makes another meal. One bud 
would amply suffice for its nourishment twenty-four hours if it 
would continue to feed upon it till it had wholly consumed tho 
petals and stamens, which are rolled compactly together within it. 
But, instead of this it adopts the most destructive course it can 
pursue, forsaking tho bud as soon as it has perforated it sufficiently 
to cut its petals asunder. Being so needlessly wasteful in its pro¬ 
pensities we feel less compunction in destroying it than we other¬ 
wise should, knowing what a beautiful thing it finally becomes. 
Sometimes the mutilation is less complete, either from the worm 
being smaller in size or interrupted in its operations. And the 
flower thus comes to present, usually, a very curious appearance. 
The worm eating through the four petals when they are closely 
folded together, when they come to expand each is commonly cut 
in the same manner; a large roundish hole, it may bo, is taken 
