[Illustration: FIG. 222.--HORTUELLUS.] The larva is pale grey with dark grey spots, and may be found among moss in April and May. _Galleria mellonella_ Our last example of the _Crambi_ is a moth that the young entomologist is not likely to meet with unless he happens to be in the neighbourhood of one of its haunts, but its habits are so peculiar that we are tempted to introduce it on that account. [Illustration: FIG. 223.--MELLONELLA.] It belongs to the family _Galleridae_, the larvae of which feed on the wax combs in the hives of bees and in the nests of wild bees. They are protected from the stings of the inmates by silken tubes which they construct, and by the hardened covering of their heads and front segments--the only parts that remain exposed while they are feeding. The fore wings of the moth are reddish-grey or brownish, sometimes with a greenish tinge, and yellowish along the inner margin. The hind wings are greyish brown. It flies in July and August, and the caterpillar feeds in May and June. _The Tortrices_ This is a large group of moths, deriving their name from the peculiar habit of a number of the larvae of twisting or rolling up leaves for their protection. This habit, however, is not common to all, for some feed on stems and flowers, and others devour seeds and fruits. The perfect insects may easily be known by the shape of the wings. The fore pair are gracefully curved on the costal margin in such a way that, when the insect is at rest with its wings closed, its outline is much the shape of a bell. The identification of the various species of this extensive group is no easy task, for many of them are so variable in their colouring that insects of the same species are often very different from each other. So puzzling indeed is this tendency to run into varieties that many insects, once considered to belong to separate species, have been reduced to one; and this has been the case in a number of instances. There are so many of these little moths that we cannot even give a representative of each family, but the following outline will serve to show the extensiveness of the group. Family 1. _Tortricidae_, about sixty species. " 2. _Penthinidae_, " twenty " " 3. _Spilonotidae_, " twelve " " 4. _Sericoridae_, " twenty-seven species. " 5. _Sciaphilidae_, " twenty-four " " 6. _Grapholithidae_, about one hundred and fifty species. " 7. _Pyraloididae_, four species. " 8. _Conchylidae_, about fifty species. " 9. _Apheliidae_, three species. We shall now briefly examine a few of the commonest insects of the group. _Tortrix xylosteana_ This pretty moth is common in most parts, and may often be met with in abundance in wooded localities during July. It belongs to the family _Tortricidae_.