THE DELTA-MOTHS. 475 
like that of the Greek letter A. For the same reason I 
have called them Delta-moths. The body, in these moths, 
is long and slender. The fore wings are long and rather 
narrow, and cover the hind wings nearly horizontally when 
at rest. The feelers are generally very long, flattened side- 
wise, and more or less turned up at the end. The tongue 
in some is of moderate length, in others it is very small 
or invisible. The antennas are long and generally simple 
or bristle-formed in both sexes ; in some males, however, 
they are feathered, and in a few others they have a singular 
knot or crook in the middle. The legs are long and slen- 
der; and the first pair is often fringed with tufts of long 
hairs. Most of these moths fly at night ; a few are on the 
wing in the daytime also. They generally prefer moist and 
shady places, where the long grass and thick foliage shelter 
them from the light and heat of the sun. Some of them 
frequent houses. 
The meal-moth ( Pyralis fari nails'), (Plate VII. Fig. 8,) 
the caterpillar of which may he found in old flour-barrels, 
is often seen on the ceilings of rooms, sitting with its tail 
curved over its hack. The fore wings of this pretty moth 
are light brown, crossed by two curved white lines, and 
with a dark chrfcolate-brown spot on the base and tip of 
each. The tabby, or grease-moth (Aglussa joinguinalis), 
the larva of which lives in greasy animal substances, is also 
to he found in houses, and is known by its narrow glossy 
wings, of a smoky gray color, crossed by wavy lighter- 
colored hands ; its tongue is not visible. The motions of 
some of the day-flying kinds ( Simaetliis ) are very curious. 
When they alight upon a leaf, they whirl round sidewise, 
in a circular direction, with the head in the centre of the 
circle, and then return in the contrary direction, and repeat 
these gyrations several times in succession. 
The lai'vse or caterpillars of the Delta-moths are long 
and slender, tapering at each end, and naked, or with only 
a few short hairs, which are rarely visible to the naked eye. 
