May s, 1923 
Striped Sod Wehworm 
405 
All-night collections at light made throughout the summer in 1915 
show that the female moths are attracted during the early part of the 
evening, between 8 and 9 o’clock and the males not until later, between 
midnight and 3 a. m. Very few of either sex appeared outside their 
respective periods. 
It was proved by numerous experiments that the moths will feed on 
dilute honey and will drink water, but that food is not necessary and 
that they will live longer and the females will produce more eggs on the 
average when supplied with water alone than when fed honey or when 
confined in a dry box or vial. Moths in the field have never been ob¬ 
served feeding, or attracted to flowers. 
The average length of life of 72 female moths taken at light and in 
the field and confined, some in dry boxes and some with wet cotton, was 
3.86 days. Under the same conditions 115 males averaged i day less. 
One reared female, which had access to water from the time she emerged, 
lived 10 days and laid 500 eggs, which is probably about normal for a 
moth in the field. Under optimum conditions 3 males lived 14 days 
each, but a summary of all records shows that the males are usually 
shorter-lived than the females. 
Practically all eggs obtained from moths taken in the open are fertile, 
indicating that mating occurs very shortly after the emergence of the 
females, probably the same night. Occasionally the last few eggs laid by 
a female prove to be infertile, but in most cases one mating is enough to 
fertilize the entire supply of eggs, and there is no evidence that the 
moths normally mate more than once. Female moths isolated and pre¬ 
vented from mating usually deposit some eggs, but these invariably 
shrivel and fail to hatch. 
DESCRIPTION (fig. 2) 
Wing expanse i8 to 24 millimeters, the females averaging larger than the mal6s. 
General color gray, with a dusky spot near center of forewing, the inner half of costal 
margin dark brown. Palpi fuscous, the tips of the scales whitish. Head and thorax 
gray-brown. Male antennae broadly pectinate (PI. 2, A), female setaceous. Fore¬ 
wing with costal half slaty gray, sometimes whiti^ toward the center, anal half with a 
tinge of luteous. Proximal half of costal margin broadly bronze-brown. A dark 
brown median line begins near the middle of costal margin, forms a broad angle near 
end of cell, broadens immediately below it, and continues in an oblique line, j^adually 
narrowing until it reaches the hind margin. In feebly marked specimens this median 
line is often obsolete except the portion below the end of the cell, which is invariably 
present as a more or less conspicuous dusky spot. Subterminal line runs nearly 
straight across the wing, with an acute outward angle at each vein. Terminal line 
of seven dusky spots at the ends of the veins. Fringes gray, shining. Hind wings 
gray, a little paler toward base, fringes pale yellow. 
Genitaua. —^Male: Body of tegumen (PI. 2, C) rather long, a little longer than the 
uncus, roimded above, its limbs long, narrow, turned ventrad, and narrowed at the 
ends. Uncus nearly straight, rather narrow, with a sharp, nail-like hook at the end, 
hirsute above. Gnathos long, slender, much exceeding the uncus, tip narrowed and 
turned slightly ventrad, naked. Aedoeagus (PI. 2, E) straight, cylindrical, smoothly 
rounded cephalad, tapering somewhat from the opening to the tip, which flares 
slightly, terminal opening oblique, with a single long slender heavily chitinized 
comutus, about half the length of the organ; anellus reduced to a mere membranous 
scale on ventral side. Harpes (PI. 2, D) small, rather weakly chitinized; free costa 
reduced to a slender sharp spine less than half the length of the free sacculus, outer 
margin at base hirsute; sacculus with the free portion a flat curved process with rounded 
tip, hirsute, the hairs on ventral half much shorter than those above, narrowed at 
base, and with a rounded spined lobe where it joins the base. Vinculum reduced to 
a small scutate plate lying between the tips of the base of the sacculi. Female: The 
ventral two-thirds of the genital plate (PI. 2, F) rounded and somewhat produced, 
the dorsal lobe smaller, rounded, both lobes hirsute. 
