199 
the chrysalis works its way out of the tree to such a distance that the 
moth may escape. The moths issue from the trees the last of June 
or the first of July. 
The two sexes of the moths differ in size and color. The female 
expands from two to two and a half inches. The wings are gray, 
marked with irregular black lines and dots, the color and cell-like 
arrangement of the gray giving the insect something of the appear¬ 
ance of the Neuroptera. In the male the fore wings are darker than 
the same in the female, and the hind wings are ochre-yellow, while 
the wings expand only an inch and a half. 
Remedies —It is difficult to provide remedies for these borers after 
the eggs have been laid. As they are the color of the bark it is 
difficult to detect them to destroy them, and it is not easy to reach 
the worms after they begin their work. A few trees may be protected 
by the application of soft soap the last of June, or the moths may be 
watched for on the trees early in the morning during the time they 
may be expected to appear, as they are at that time sluggish. Be¬ 
sides the locust they are said to attack the oaks and crab apple. 
NOCTUIDiE.—Owlet Moths. 
This family is more uniform in the different groups than the pre¬ 
ceding. . The head is distinct, not sunken into the thorax as in 
Bombycidse; palpi stout, projecting in front of the head, but not more 
than the length of the head; antennae filiform, slightly ciliate, or in 
the males of some species slightly pectinate. Body robust; thorax 
with more or less prominent shoulder tufts, usually distinct dorsal 
tufts, and prominent transverse tufts on the prothorax; abdomen 
with a line of dorsal tufts in some genera, and the males with more 
or less prominent anal tufts. The fore wings are small, narrow, 
when at rest lie like a flat roof over the back ; hind wings broader, 
when at rest are folded so as to be covered by the fore wings. The 
common name, Owlet Moths, is given them because they fly at night, 
though if molested they will fly a short distance in the day time. 
They are attracted by a light at night, and form a majority of the 
moths that are thus drawn to lamps in houses. 
The larvae are cylindrical, tapering somewhat from the middle 
toward each extremity, are striped and barred in various ways, and 
all but Catocala and a few allied genera have sixteen legs. The Cato- 
cala have fourteen legs and loop up the body when they walk, in a 
way similar to the Geometrids. The chrysalids are sometimes in 
earthen cocoons under ground, as other leaves or other substances are 
fastened together by silk above the surface, while in other species the 
chrysalids are naked under grass or something for a shelter, or are 
formed in the stalk of the plant, within which the caterpillar has 
lived. 
As a class the caterpillars of the Owlet Moths are injurious to vege¬ 
tation, though some of them living upon useless weeds need not be 
