THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST 373 



A NEW SPECIES OF TORTRIX OF ECONOMIC 



IMPORTANCE, FROM NEWFOUNDLAND 



(LEPIDOPTERA: TORTRICID.E).* 



BY ARTHUR GIBSON, CHIEF ASSISTANT ENTOMOLOGIST, IN CHARGE 

 OF FIELD CROP INSECT INVESTIGATIONS, DEPARTMENT 



OF AGRICULTURE. OTTAWA. 



Towards the end of July, 1915, Mr. Albert J. Boyle, tTie 

 Acting Secretary of the Newfoundland Agricultural Board, St. 

 John's, Newfoundland, sent to the Dominion Entomologist 

 leaves of cabbages which were infested by a small tortricid larva. 

 The caterpillars pupated in transit, and moths emerged at Ottawa 

 as follows: three on August 9 and one on August 17. The cater- 

 pillars, we were informed, were present in very destructive numbers 

 on some farms near St. John's, Nfd., in fact on one farm, according 

 to Mr. Boyle who personally investigated the outbreak, the whole 

 of the first and much of the second plantings of cabbages were 

 destroyed by the larva?. The larva curls the leaf like other tor- 

 tricids; this habit is shown in the figure herewith, the photograph 

 having been taken from material received from St. John's. 



Mr. Boyle informed us that oftentimes in spring cabbage 

 plants are imported into Newfoundland from Ireland, and for 

 this reason we thought that the moth might be the European 

 species, Tortrix virgaureana Tr. Two specimens were, therefore, 

 forwarded to Dr. Guy A. K. Marshall, Director of the Imperial 

 Bureau of Entomology, who submitted them to Mr. Durrant, 

 of the British Museum. Mr. Durrant examined the specimens 

 but could not associate them definitely with virgaureana. Dr. 

 Marshall reported that the black spots in the Newfoundland 

 insect are much better defined than in any of the British species 

 and are rather more numerous. Mr. August Busck, of the U. S. 

 National Museum, also kindly examined a specimen of the Ncav- 

 foundland moth and reported that it is undoubtedly closely allied 



* Contribu<^ion from the Entomological Branch, Department ol Agriculture, 

 Ottawa. 

 November, 1916. 



