Snout Moths
A small group of slender-bodied Moths, that take their popular name from the long palpi, or feelers, projecting like a snout from the front of the head. The form of the insect when the wings are closed is very characteristic, the wings lying almost flat, and giving an outline like the Greek letter delta, whence the scientific name Deltoides has been conferred on the group. None of the species are large, most of them scarcely exceeding 1in. in spread of wings; while only one British species (Hypena proboscidalis) reaches 1 1/2in. across the wings. This species feeds on Nettles, and may therefore be regarded as useful. Very few of the insects in the group are injurious to garden produce; in fact, the only one that deserves special notice as hurtful is the Buttoned Snout (H. rostralis), which, in the larval state, feeds on the Hop, and is very common in the Hop-growing districts. The moth measures a little over 1in. across the fore wings, which are greyish-brown, with two dark brown cross-lines and a pale grey line near the hind margin, ending in a dark brown streak at the tip of each wing. In the middle of each fore wing is a raised tuft of scales. The hind wings are grey. The larva is slender, and pale green, with a narrow, dark green line down the back, and a broken, white line above the feet on each side; the head is brown. When the larva is touched, it jerks itself rapidly about. It forms a cocoon among dead leaves or other shelter on the soil, becomes a pupa, and comes out as a moth after about three weeks. The larvae may be removed from Hops by beating the plants over an umbrella or sheet.