52 
and traversed by faint whitish lines forming a kind of delicate net¬ 
work; toward the outer margin there is a transverse, zigzag, whitish 
line forming a rude and wide w more or less distinctly visible; a few 
pale atoms are sprinkled on other portions of the wing. The poster¬ 
ior wings white and delicate, faintly edged with brown. The head and 
thorax brown; the abdomen grayish-brown. 
There are two broods in each year; the first brood of the caterpil¬ 
lars appearing in June, the second in August and September. 
It passes the winter in the chrysalis state; this at .least appears to 
be the usual method. 
Although apparently preferring cruciferous plants, the caterpillars feed 
with avidity on the leaves of the pea; and Prof. Riley has observed that 
the fall brood collects on the heads and flower-buds of asters and snow- 
berry, on the honey-suckle, mignonette and asparagus; and that they 
are also occasionally found on clover and lambs-quarter. When young 
they are gregarious. 
So far the injury to cabbages caused by this insect hrs not been suf¬ 
ficient to call any special attention to it. 
This species, which was formerly known by the scientific name Ma- 
mestra picta given to it by Dr. Harris, is supposed to be the same as 
' Guenee’s Cerarnica exusta. The latter genus, in which it is now placed, 
contains but few species, the one here described being the only one, 
so far as known, that is injurious to useful plants. 
THE C&BBAGE TINEA .—Plutella cruciferarum. Zell. 
As I have had no opportunity of studying this species personally, I 
will quote somewhat fully Dr. Fitch’s excellent account of it as given 
in his Second Report; first remarking that he describes it under the 
name Cerostoma brassicella. It was also subsequently described by Dr. 
Clemens, under the name Plutella limbipenella. 
In the neighborhood of Ottawa, Illinois, in October last [1854], I 
observed the cabbage leaves in the gardens perforated with numerous 
holes of variable size and irregular form, by a small green worm. 
Some gardens were so much infested that all the outer leaves of the 
cabbage were literly riddled with holes, more than half their substance 
being eaten away. At almost every step, numbers of the little moths 
which hatch from these worms would arise upon the wing and flit 
away a few yards to some covert. Fortunately it is only the free ‘outer 
leaves of the cabbage which are preyed upon by this worm, whilst the 
compacted inner leaves, forming the head, on which the value of this 
vegetable depends, are left uninjured. But there is no doubt the eat¬ 
ing away of the outer leaves, to such an extent as is frequently done 
by this worm, weakens and stints the growth of the head, which, as 
is well known, continues to advance in size until the end of the season. 
It is a little remarkable that this species occurs in all its states so 
late in the autumn as the middle of October, as the several British 
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