The Moths and Butterflies 
3 8 9 
For one hundred and fifty years the peach, an imported plant, has suffered 
in this country from the ravages of this native pest. One Sesian species, 
Sanninoidea exitiosa (Fig. 554) is 
the peach-tree borer of the eastern 
states, and another, closely related, 
S. pacifica , works equal injury in the 
Pacific states. In both species the 
eggs (Fig. 555) are deposited on 
the trunk of the tree near its base, 
in July and August in the East, in 
April and May in California, and 
the young larvae (Fig. 556), hatching 
after a week or ten days, immedi¬ 
ately bore in through the outer 
bark and begin feeding on the 
live inner bark. When winter 
comes they cease feeding—in the 
East at least—and hibernate quies¬ 
cent, being now about half-grown. 
In the spring they become active 
again, feed and grow rapidly, and 
by summer are ready to pupate. Pacifica begins pupating in California 
in February. For this they leave 
their burrows, come out to the 
surface of the bark, spin about 
themselves a thin silken cocoon 
and change (Fig. 557). The 
pupal stage lasts about three 
weeks, when the moths issue. 
The clear-winged male moths, 
expanding 1 inch, are deep 
steely-blue, with small golden- 
yellow markings on head and 
thorax and abdomen; the larger, 
heavier-bodied female, expanding 
1J inches, has a broad orange band 
Fig. 553.—Venation of a Pyromorphid, Pyro- across the abdomen in the fourth 
morpha iimidiata .es, costal vein; sc, sub- or fifth se g me ntS, and has the 
costal vein; r, radial vein; m, medial vein; . 0 
c, cubital vein; a, anal veins. (After Com- front Wings covered With blackish 
stock; enlarged.) scales (Fig. 554). The remedy 
for this pest is the application, by painting on, of gas tar to the basal 
part of the tree-trunk just before the flying and egg-laying time of the 
Fig. 552.—Diagram showing venation of wings 
of bag-worm moth, Thyridopteryx ephe¬ 
mera}or mis. cs, costal vein; sc, subcostal 
vein; r, radial vein; m, medial vein; c, 
cubital vein; a, anal veins. 
