105 
onal areas, appearing as a netlike sculpture on the surface. The 
larva, on hatching from the egg, immediately attacks the new 
leaves, usually feeding on the epidermal tissue of the under sur¬ 
face, but later it devours the entire leaf. While young it may 
remain on the leaves during the day, but as it nears maturity it 
. 
i • 
L, -v. . a 
Fig. 17. Alternanthera Worm, 
Hymeniaperspectalis, egg. Great¬ 
ly enlarged. 
usually conceals itself near the base of the plant or in the crevices 
of the pot, feeding only at night. When full grown (Fig. 18, 19) 
the larva is slightly more than half an inch long, shining green, 
somewhat resembling slimy green slugs, and with rows of small 
black dots, as shown in the figure. It then goes to the base of the 
plant or, more often, to the wall of the pot, where it makes a 
thin, loose cocoon of silken thread, in which it transforms to the 
brownish pupa (Fig. 20), the moth (Fig. 21) emerging a week 
or ten days later. The length of the various stages has not been 
Fig 19. A lternanthera Worm, Hy- 
ntenia perspectalis, head and next seg¬ 
ment, greatly enlarged. 
Fig. 18. Alternanthera Worm, 
Hymeniaperspectalis. Length slight¬ 
ly over half an inch. 
Fig. 20. Alternanthera 
Worm, Hymetiia perspectalis, 
pupa; also tip of same greatly 
enlarged. Length of pupa 
about one third inch. 
