. The American entomologist. Entomology. 152 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. lie felt none: and asked my friend why il ;i >|i(cies ot vine for shelter, orna- ment. ;iinl u-e. w hirli |iroduced uo foliage. He rebnked nn ii;ncir;inre pretty sharply, and told me that a lew \ve<'kappeareil--ealen, lie guessed, by soniothiny. He "-nessed right, Tliere were at least a hundred of the larvas of A. octomacu- kita, the rear guard of a mighty host, wander- ing about the branches, apparently for the pur- pose of making snre that no little particle of a leaf was left undevoured. Pretty little things
. The American entomologist. Entomology. 152 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. lie felt none: and asked my friend why il ;i >|i(cies ot vine for shelter, orna- ment. ;iinl u-e. w hirli |iroduced uo foliage. He rebnked nn ii;ncir;inre pretty sharply, and told me that a lew \ve<'kappeareil--ealen, lie guessed, by soniothiny. He "-nessed right, Tliere were at least a hundred of the larvas of A. octomacu- kita, the rear guard of a mighty host, wander- ing about the branches, apparently for the pur- pose of making snre that no little particle of a leaf was left undevoured. Pretty little things they were, with hariuoniously blended coloi's of black, yellow and blue, but so terribly destruc- tive! I had the curiosity to walk through all the streets to the east of Third avenue, as low as Tweiity-tliiid street, and every vine was in the same preiliraiiient. Ifgrape leaves, instead of tig leave-, hail been in request for making aprons, and one .!////</(( had been in existence at the time, 1 doubt if in the whole Garden of Eden enough material would liave been found to make a garment of decent size. The destruc- tion of the crop for 1868 was complete. "This was bad. But it was not half so bad as the helpless ignorance which possessed nearly all of the unfortunate owners of vines. Scarcely one that I conversed with had the remotest idea of the cause of the disaster, and when I explained that it was the caterpillar of a beautiful little black moth, with eight whitish yellow spots ou its wings, whiih had eaten up the foliage, my assertion was received with such a smile of incredulity, as convinced me that there is no use in trying to humbug such very sharp fellows as are the New York grape-growe?'S. "It is a little remarkable, however, that the destruction was conflued to the eastern part ol the eitv, T -aw several luxuriant vines ou the western -ide : and across the river at Hoboken, and at Ihnl-ou ('ity, not a trace of A. odoma- ciila/ii was (liM'eruible. "
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, booksubjectentomology, bookyear1
