THE CANKER-WORM. 
461 
unequal in size, and in others the females are wingless. 
Amonor those wdiose females are wingless are the canker- 
worm moths. In the late Professor Peck’s “ Natural His¬ 
tory of the Canker-Worm,” which was published among the 
papers of “the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Ag¬ 
riculture,” and obtained a prize from the Society, this insect 
is called Phalcena vernata^ on account of its common ap¬ 
pearance in the spring, and also to distinguish it from the 
winter moth (^PhalcEna or Cheimatohia hrumata) of Europe. 
In the male canker-worm moth (Fig. 
228) the antennae have a very nar¬ 
row, and almost downy edging, on 
each side, hardly to be seen with the 
naked eye. The feelers are minute, 
and do not extend beyond the mouth. 
The tongue is not visible. The wings 
are large, very thin, and silky; and, when the insect is at 
rest, the fore wings are turned back, entirely cover the hind 
wings, and overlap on their inner edges. The fore wings 
are ash-colored, with a distinct whitish spot on the front 
edge, near the tip; they are crossed by two jagged, whitish 
bands, along the sides of which there are several blackish 
dots ; the outermost band has an angle near the front edge, 
within which there is a short, faint, blackish line; and there 
is a row of black dots along the outer margin, close to the 
fringe. The hind wings are pale ash-colored, with a faint 
blackish dot near the middle. The wings expand about one 
inch and a quarter. 
This is the usual appearance of the male, in its most 
perfect condition; by which it will be seen that it closely 
resembles the Anisopteryx AEscularia of Europe. Compared 
with the latter, I find that our canker-worm moth is rather 
smaller, the wings are darker, proportionally shorter and 
more obtuse, the white bands are less distinct, and are 
often entirely wanting, in which case only the whitish spot 
near the tip remains, the.hind wings are more dusky, and 
Fig. 228. 
