1846. THE CULTIVATOR. 209 
magnifies the surface of objects, by my estimate, if cor¬ 
rect, about 4000 times; still as Dr. Harris now has the 
insect to examine for himself, I shall not venture an 
opinion, with regard to the species, except to say that 
as far as my knowledge extends, his description of the 
Anacampsis cerealella, (Angoumois Moth,) comes very 
close to that of our moth. In some particulars, per¬ 
haps unimportant, however, the description does not, I 
think, quite apply. 
I shall nevertheless submit, with all due humility, as 
the result of my investigations on the insect in question, 
in its various stages, the following detailed 
Specific Characters. 
The Egg .—The speck found on weevil-eaten wheat, 
on the upper margin of the heart, (corculum, or oral 
spot near the base of the grain, containing the future 
germ, surrounded by a soft and somewhat waxy mate¬ 
rial) although just visible to the naked eye, presents, 
under the microscope, the appearance of from 50 to 100 
minute, irregularly-ovoid grains, (somewhat resem¬ 
bling rice,) apparently of albuminous matter, enveloped 
in a thin pellicle or membrane. From this speck being 
almost always exactly at the lower orifice of the 
cavity commenced by the worm, and from its otherwise 
resembling the eggs of insects, I have always felt con¬ 
fident that this is the egg or eggs, although I cannot 
detect the living embryo for want, I suppose, of a more 
powerful lens. At first I supposed the whole only one 
egg, as it seemed but little larger in proportion to our 
moth than the egg of the common silkworm moth does 
to its parent. But, from the fact that these grains can 
be separated under the microscope, by the point of a 
very fine needle, I believe the speck will prove to be a 
cluster of eggs. Even after the worm has commenced 
its operations, this speck still presents the same exter¬ 
nal appearance. The membrane seems only to burst 
below, and allow the escape of the worm or worms as 
circumstances may require, and still retains its mem¬ 
braneous covering, which is not affected by water, as 
nearly as I can ascertain, unless it be boiling, or nearly 
so. Why there should be so many eggs in reserve, I 
cannot say; but sometimes I have found a cluster de¬ 
posited on nearly every grain which one ear of wheat 
contains. 
The Larva is naked, of a dirty white or yellowish 
color; feet 16 in number. (The first pair of prop-legs 
is however so minute that it is very difficult to decide, 
without some possibility of error. There may, there¬ 
fore, only be fourteen feet.) From one specimen, 
taken out of corn, when examining its mouth with a 
needle, I found I could draw a very minute thread. Of 
this spinning power I could not at first perceive that 
they made any use; but on close inspection, I observed 
that the worm just before changing into a chrysalis, 
seems to shove all its excrementitious deposit to one 
side and downwards in the old cavity, and then weaves 
a thin, white, web-like partition, neither vertically nor 
horizontally, but rather obliquely through the channel, 
so as to separate the deposit from the chrysalis; the lat¬ 
ter being always found with its head towards, and not 
far from the opening at which the future moth emerges. 
Under the microscope, the larva has very much such 
an appearance as the grub of the cockchafer, (or May- 
bug,) so often found in our gardens, presents to the 
naked eye. 
The Pupa is brown, (becoming darker as it approach¬ 
es its final transformation,) smaller at each end than in 
the middle, and not enveloped in any covering. 
The Moth or Perfect Insect .—Measuring from the 
head to the extremity of the wings, the moth is usually 
three-twelfths of an inch long, or in specimens taken 
out of corn, four-twelfths of an inch long, and one-tenth 
across. The antennae, when highly magnified, appear 
somewhat moniliform, (resembling a necklace,) seta¬ 
ceous, (tapering from the base to the extremity,) and 
sometimes nearly as long as the body without the 
wings. The head is usually furnished with two palpi, 
(feelers,) bent back; second joint naked and cylindrical. 
(Some specimens certainly have no palpi, but whether 
such are uniformly of one sex or the other, I cannot de¬ 
cide. I have found palpi on both sexes.) Tongue spi¬ 
ral, longer than the head. The wings extend frequently 
some distance, at least one-tenth of an inch beyond the 
abdomen, particularly in the male, whose abdomen is 
considerably smaller than that of the female. The 
upper wings are of a color which I think generally 
speaking would be called gray; but probably entomolo¬ 
gists might call it cinereous or ash-colored; where the 
wings approach the thorax, however, they have more 
of a bluish tinge, and towards the tips a yellowish tinge; 
the whole upper surface exhibits a brilliant lustre, re¬ 
sembling satin. The lower wings are darker, inclining 
to brown, with a broad fringe. When at rest, the 
wings are somewhat deflected, that is, sloping like the 
roof of a house. The female is furnished with an ovi¬ 
positor, which seems capable of being thrust out a con¬ 
siderable distance. Viewed from above or beneath, 
this egg sheath appears as thin as the edge of a knife 
blade, but when seen from either side, it presents con¬ 
siderable width, and has on one side an opening, through 
which, I presume, the eggs are forced out, with the 
accompanying viscid matter, to attach them firmly to 
the grain. 
This description will, no doubt, appear to many of 
your readers very dry, and the result very small after 
so much labor. But I can assure my brother farmers 
that, to me, the investigation has been full of interest; 
and I can safely add my testimony, in confirmation of 
the recommendations, which many have given, of the 
use of the microscope. It is an instrument calculated to 
aid us materially, in some portions of our agricultural 
investigations, (particularly among the animal and 
vegetable enemies of our crops;) and withal, admira¬ 
bly adapted (when we are contemplating the minute 
and, but for these lenses, to us invisible world,) to ex¬ 
cite our admiration for Nature’s works and her immu¬ 
table laws. 
II. Where is the insect found * 
1. In what kinds of grain? 
As far as I have been able to observe for myself, or 
ascertain from others, in this neighborhood, it never 
attacks rye; a neighbor informs me, he has found it in 
oats; and I have found it abundantly in wheat, bar¬ 
ley, and Indian corn. (The insect found in corn does 
not differ in any essential, that I can discover, from that 
found in wheat; it is usually somewhat larger than the 
specimens from wheat, but this may be owing to the 
greater amount of nourishment which the grain has 
afforded, a grain of corn being so much larger than a 
grain of wheat.) 
2. In what portion of the grain is it found? 
The egg is found, as already remarked, on the out¬ 
side of the wheat, and most generally on the upper 
margin of the heart, somewhat above the point from 
which the plume, or infant stem ascends. This being 
the softest and most easily perforated portion of the 
grain, the embryo grub, after bursting the under por¬ 
tion of the egg, seems to find no difficulty in entering 
the grain. Sometimes, however, I have found the egg 
in the groove of the wheat, but the grub seems to find 
its way round to the heart, before it commences its at¬ 
tacks. As the larva increases in size, it eats itself 
a channel lengthwise of the grain, devouring near¬ 
ly all the farina, until it reaches the upper end of the 
wheat or corn, when it prepares itself to change into a 
chrysalis. It leaves the outer skin of the grain, as a 
covering to the orifice of its cavity, and this is readily 
burst by the perfect insect, when it is ready to issue 
forth. By examining this skin, and ascertaining whe¬ 
ther it has or has not been burst open on one side, and 
left like the open clapper or valve of a pump, you can 
always learn whether the insect is still in, or gone 
from a perforated grain. 
3. In what latitude is it found? 
Until the years ’44 and ’45, the moth had not pre¬ 
vailed, perhaps not even appeared in this latitude (38°) 
for 15 or 16 years. I have been able to hear of its 
ravages as far north as Columbus, Ohio, and am in¬ 
formed that the moth prevails more or less every year 
in Tennessee, and as much farther south as wheat is 
raised. For the truth of this statement I cannot vouch. 
The probable northern limit, however, seems to be 
