September  2,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
221 
HAllMFUL  AND  HARMLESS  GARDEN  MOTHS.— 7. 
A  GOOD  old  gardener  I  once  knew  owned  to  feelings  anything  hut 
friendly  towards  the  entomological  brotherhood.  Though  awai’e  they 
killed  and  captured  insects,  ho  looked  upon  them  as,  in  some  sense, 
guardians  or  defenders  of  his  enemies,  and  he  had  a  special  grievance. 
“  They  get  over  insects,” 
said  he,  “  from  foreign 
parts.  Of  course  they 
turn  them  out,  if  they 
have  more  than  they 
want,  in  our  gardens  or 
fields,  and  very  like  they 
may  breed  here.” 
As  a  matter  of  fact, 
however,  which  is  rather 
surprising,  very  few 
exotic  insects  have  settled 
themselves  in  Britain,  and 
1  do  not  think  entomo¬ 
logists  are  responsible  for 
the  introduction  of  any 
one.  Still,  1  happen  to 
be  aware  that  several 
times,  by  way  of  ex¬ 
periment,  companies  of 
young  gipsy  caterpillars 
have  been  liberated  to 
see  whether  they  would 
be  the  parents  of  another 
br(.)od,  but  either  they 
died,  or,  if  any  moths 
emerged,  their  progeny 
perished.  Yet  the  species 
stands  on  the  list  of 
British  insects,  formerly 
not  uncommon,  it  is 
stated,  though  now  rarely 
found  wild  here.  Cer¬ 
tainly  there  is  no  need 
to  re-establish  it,  since 
we  do  not  want  it  in 
our  gardens  or  oi’chards. 
On  the  Continent  this 
gi[)sy  (Ochneria  dispar)  is 
still  abundant  and  mis¬ 
chievous.  I  am  afraid 
our  friends  in  France 
and  Germany  are  rather 
good-natured  to  the  cater- 
-  pillar,  which,  having  a 
garb  of  red,  grey,  and 
black,  also  a  large  head, 
is  fairly  conspicuous  at 
all  ages ;  we  probably 
would  soon  detect  it  on 
our  fruit  trees.  Nor  is 
the  large  moth  hard  to 
find  during  August,  when 
it  emerges,  the  eggs  then 
laid  hatch  in  spring. 
Presumably,  the  name  of 
gipsy  was  suggested  by 
the  roving  habits  of  the 
caterpillar. 
The  lackey  moth 
(Bombyx  neustria)  is  no 
stranger  to  us,  at  least 
in  its  caterpillar  stage, 
when  it  is  apt  to  be 
a  persevering  attendant 
upon  the  growth  of  some 
of  our  shrubs  and  trees. 
It  can  eat  the  foliage  of 
many  species,  but  we 
have  to  complain  chiefly  of  the  harm  it  does  the  Apple,  especially 
when  it  has  made  a  settlement  in  a  large  orchard.  Both  in  orchards 
and  gardens  the  moth  secretes  itself  by  day.  Occasionally  we 
disturb  it  from  repose  amongst  grass  or  herbage  in  July  or  August 
after  dark  ;  the  females  are  busy  depositing  their  circlet  of  eggs 
round  the  twigs,  which  remain  unhatched  till  spring.  These  sliould 
be  removed  or  crushed  whenever  seen  ;  they  are  regularly  arranged 
in  rows  jdaced  closely  together,  a  batch  of  them  mimberiiig  from 
100  to  200,  covered,  too,  with  a  glossy  enamel,  .  which  protects 
them,  and,  as  Mr.  Wood  thinks,  suggested  the  name  of  “  lacij[uer,” 
or  lackey  moth,  but  here  I  consider  he  is  wrong.  It  is  reddish  brown, 
with  a  faint  bar  across  the  fore  wings.  Some  specimens  are  seen 
yellow,  except  the  head  and  body,  which  are  always  red.  But  lackey 
probably  alludes  either  to  a  habit  of  the  caterpillar  when  young — 
that  of  going  oiit  and  returning  to  the  nest  they  make  as  a  night 
shelter  in  parties,  one 
slowly  following  another : 
or  else,  as  Westwood 
remarked,  it  was  given 
because  the  stripes  on  the 
insect  resembled  those 
which  used  to  adorn  the 
coats  of  footmen,  but  are 
now  almost  out  of  date. 
The  nests  which  are 
constructed  by  each 
colony,  though  small  at 
first,  are  soon  sufficiently 
apparent  in  the  forks  of 
branches,  and  the  gar¬ 
dener  can  easily  remove 
them  with  their  tenants 
during  a  shower,  or  after 
sunset.  Having  passed 
the  third  moult  they 
scatter  about,  and  each 
caterpillar  is  indepen¬ 
dent  ;  not  unfretiuently 
one  of  the  high  winds 
we  sometimes  have  in 
Juno  brings  down  num¬ 
bers  of  tlieni  from  the 
higher  boughs.  If  we 
examine  one  it  seems 
slender,  and  as  if  its  skin 
was  too  loose.  1 1  is  striped 
in  several  colours ;  on 
tlie  dull  blue  head  are 
a  couple  of  black  spots, 
which  we  might  take  for 
eyes,  but  such  they  arc 
not,  the  eyes  of  cater¬ 
pillars  being  uiidis- 
cernible,  as  a  rule.  By 
an  old  French  law,  the 
owners  of  orchards  were 
liable  to  a  penalty  if 
they  had  not  by  a  fixed 
date  in  spring  cut  away 
all  shoots  containing  webs 
of  the  lackey.  A  curious 
thing  about  the  cocoon 
spun  by  this  caterpillar 
is  that  with  its  silk  and 
hairs  there  is  mixed  a 
(quantity  of  yellow  pow¬ 
der,  in  which  the  chrysalis 
is  also  enveloped. 
Some  years  ago,  a  gar¬ 
dener  at  a  house  near 
Wimbledon  Common 
showed  me  a  specimen  of 
the  lappet  moth  he  had 
ciptured  in  his  grounds, 
and  which  he  had  pre¬ 
served  as  a  memento ;  it 
might  have  bred  there, 
but  more  probably  had 
flown  over  from  the 
Common,  w'here  thecater- 
])illar  used  to  be  found  on 
blow.  Willow,  and  other 
shrubs.  It  is  a  large, 
handsome  moth,  reddish 
broWn  and  black;  when  at  rest  with  folded  wings  it  is  not  unLke 
a  dried  Oak  leaf,  so  someone  called  it  Gastropacha  quercifolia.  dhe 
caterpillar  would  also  be  somewhat  of  a  surprise  to  a  gardener  if  he 
came  upon  one  of  full  growth,  then  quite  4  inches  long,  I’ather  shaggjq 
specially  remarkable  for  the  singular  lappets  or  flaps  along  the  sides 
above  the  feet.  It  is  generally  noticed  in  early  summer,  the  moth 
appearing  about  August.  The  new  brood  feed  for  a  time  in  autumn 
before  hybernating.  On  the  entineut,  it  is  stated  that  the  species 
is  often  injurious  to  young  Beach,  Blum,  Bear,  and  Ap])lc  trees,  the 
Fig,  31. — Epergne  Bkesextbd  to  Messes.  Adnitt  and  Naunton. 
