In a single season Aberdeenshire suffered nearly 90,000 worth of damage owing to the ravages of the diamond back moth on the root crops; in New York state the codling moth caused a loss of $3,000,000 to apple-growers.
The winter moth (Cheimatobia brumata) must be kept in check by putting greasy bands round the trunks from October till December or January, to catch the wingless females that crawl up and deposit their eggs in the cracks and crevices in the bark.
Some of those zoologists who look to Peripatus, or a similar worm-like form, as representing the direct ancestors of the Hexapoda have laid stress on a larva like the caterpillar of a moth or saw-fly as representing a primitive stage.
Another instance of mimicry affecting the larval form is supplied by the moth Endromis versicolor, the caterpillars of which resemble the inedible larvae of saw-flies.
Furs kept in such a condition are not only immune from the ravages of the larvae of moth, but all the natural oils in the pelt and fur are conserved, so that its colour and life are prolonged, and the natural deterioration is arrested.
